Passenger volumes at Venice Marco Polo Airport continue to grow, in defiance of the global economic downturn, and with six different airlines operating services to seven intercontinental scheduled destinations, it remains one the highest-ranking underserved intercontinental hubs.
A total of 8.4 million passengers from over 80 scheduled destinations visit Venice's Marco Polo Airport every year, travelling with one of over 50 scheduled carriers. In addition, six different airlines operate services to seven intercontinental scheduled destinations. No wonder, then, that Italy's latest national plan for airports recognises the airport as one of only three intercontinental gateways in Italy.
Many people know Venice as one of the 'must see' destinations in the world, but less well known is the fact that the region is one of the strongest economic areas in Europe, with a wide manufacturing footprint. With over 550,000 registered companies, the area accounts for 2% of the European GDP and over 16% of all Italian exports, while over 30% of passengers to Venice cite business as their reason for travelling.
Whether visiting the territory or boarding a cruise from the second-largest cruise port in the Mediterranean, incoming passenger volumes to Venice Marco Polo are impressive and well documented. Less well known is the fact that the city's catchment area includes over 8.8 million inhabitants within a 90-minute drive of the airport. Over 600,000 foreign nationals live in Venice's immediate catchment area and it is one of the wealthiest regions in Italy, with a high propensity for air travel.
For the above reasons, Venice's air traffic base is resilient to fluctuations in the world economic market. Despite a decline in passenger volumes in the Italian commercial aviation market in the past year, Venice airport has continued to grow. The secret of its success is the strong international component of its air traffic, in particular from intercontinental destinations.
With over 720,000 passengers flying to North America and over 730,000 to Asia over the past 12 months - an increase of 10% and 23%, respectively - Marco Polo Airport is still among the highest-ranking underserved intercontinental airports.
While these numbers may be impressive in themselves, Marco Polo Airport is striving to strengthen its passenger pool by improving connectivity through 'Vola via Venezia' ('Fly via Venice'), a custom-made programme designed to attract and engage with connecting passengers, thus growing Venice airport's attractiveness as a connecting airport. With a minimum connecting time of only 25 minutes and an easy-to-navigate terminal, Marco Polo already excels in a number of European surveys when it comes to 'ease of making connections'.
