Person of the Month: Roland Buratti

Former President of the Bolzano Bozen Tourism Board, Roland Buratti has a long history of commitment to this important institution of the city.

"Over the past five years, I was appointed to serve as President, but my involvement with the Tourism Board began ten years ago, when I joined as a member of the Board of Directors.”

What is your personal assessment?

It has been a very intense ten years. My first term was useful in helping me understand the mechanisms governing this important institution. As President, I tried to do my very best both to promote the image of the city and to manage the Tourist Board’s assets. It is worth remembering the important assets owned by the Tourism Board: Castel Mareccio-Schloss Maretsch, a jewel for the city, its vineyard and the car park.
Among the operations carried out over these years was the transfer of the right to use the Castle’s guesthouse to the new headquarters of the South Tyrolean Wine Consortium, the direct management of the car park, and the search for a farmer who was entrusted with the task of looking after the vineyard. This led to an increase in both the production and quality of the indigenous Lagrein grapes, which are delivered entirely to Kellerei Bozen-Cantina Bozen, of which the Tourism Board is a member. This in turn led to the launch of a process to produce our own wine label: Castel Mareccio-Schloss Maretsch.

The Bolzano Tourism Board’s core business, however, remains the promotion of the city as a tourist destination…

Of course. Our greatest commitment has always been to promoting the city’s image and welcoming visitors. The results confirm our work: over the past ten years, overnight stays in Bolzano Bozen have increased by 70%.
These results are the outcome of several important decisions. We opened a new and highly frequented information point in Kornplatz, from where guided tours depart. We also focused on internationalisation and reducing seasonality. To give you some figures, in 2025 tourists from the United States were the fourth-largest group of visitors – only a few hundred fewer than those from Austria. Compared with ten years ago, the number of British tourists has doubled, while the number of Asian visitors and visitors from the United Arab Emirates has increased tenfold.
From an organisational perspective, we sought to restructure the organisation by commissioning Fischer Consulting to conduct a study identifying areas of weakness that needed to be strengthened. We reorganised the staff structure, as well as our branding, marketing and communications. Over these ten years, we also placed a strong focus on the environmental sustainability of the destination.

A destination that has also grown thanks to events organised directly by the Tourism Board?

Without a doubt, particularly those connected with the world of wine, such as the revival of the Weinkost, which we have committed to organising at least until 2027, the year marking the centenary of this historic event; the Wine Event in Matteotti Square; Lorenzinacht; and the St. Magdalener Aperitivo, which attract increasing interest and participation from both residents and visitors every year.
We are also proud to once again be able to award the third prize to the young talent of the Ferruccio Busoni International Piano Competition, of which the Tourism Board is a founding member.
And, of course, the Christmas Market must not be forgotten – unique in comparison with other destinations that subsequently copied the concept.

All these initiatives have brought considerable visibility to the city. From the perspective of the Tourism Board’s organisational management, what are you most proud of, and what have you not been able to achieve?

I would like to emphasise that the Bolzano Tourism Board is a public institution and is therefore required to comply with public-sector regulations. I am pleased to have had a positive dialogue with and the support of the members of the Board of Directors, to have opened the Tourism Committee to external figures, and to have been supported by excellent colleagues – first and foremost Director Roberta Agosti – who over these years have always given their very best and have never held back, either in terms of the quantity or the quality of their work.
I am also satisfied with the way we launched the rebranding process for the destination and the Tourism Board, as well as with the revival of public meetings, which are open to everyone.
I would have liked to succeed in finding a suitable headquarters, something that has not yet been possible despite various meetings aimed at finding a satisfactory solution. I would also have liked to see the new Castel Mareccio label on the bottles that we could offer as gifts to our guests.

Image:  Roland Buratti, Courtesy Elisa Cappellari