Mafias gobble up Italy’s tourism trade: ‘A tasty dish for crime bosses.’
The Tree of All, a piece by artist Gregor Prugger in reminiscence of the struggle in opposition to the Italian mafia and its victims. Taranto, Puglia, Italy 26.06.2024
Credit score: Shutterstock, Massimo Todaro
Motels and eating places served on a plate to organised crime.
Italy’s tourism sector has turn into a buffet for the mafia, pocketing a whopping €3.3 billion a 12 months from struggling companies in hospitality. And with the 2025 Jubilee in Rome and the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics on the menu, the mob is getting ready to dig in for even larger income.
Criminals money in on disaster
From picturesque lodges to bustling pizzerias, organised crime syndicates are cashing in on Italy’s hospitality sector. In keeping with a surprising report by the Demoskopika institute, the notorious ‘Ndrangheta mafia, rooted in Calabria, is the worst offender, taking half of the unlawful earnings. Not far behind are the Camorra from Naples, Sicily’s Cosa Nostra, and fragmented crime teams from Puglia, all raking in hundreds of thousands a 12 months.
What’s extra alarming? These mafias aren’t simply sticking to their southern strongholds. The report reveals they’ve infiltrated Italy’s wealthier north, feasting on practically €1.5 billion from companies that after appeared untouchable.
“Tasty prey” for the mob
Over 7,000 companies – about 15% of the complete tourism sector – are teetering on the sting, battling crippling money owed and money move crises. Demoskopika president Raffaele Rio described these corporations as “tasty prey” for legal gangs providing “assist.”
However there’s nothing beneficiant about their provides. The mafias lend cash at eye-watering charges, sinking their claws into companies and sometimes taking them over fully.
“They promise monetary survival, repay money owed, and assure liquidity,” mentioned Rio. “However the worth is devastating – management, or outright possession, of those corporations.”
This isn’t simply dangerous information for the house owners. The mob’s grip is suffocating the authorized economic system, fuelling cash laundering, extortion, and usury that leaves reliable companies gasping for air.
From Italy to Europe
It’s not simply an Italian drawback. Europol has warned that the ‘Ndrangheta mafia is investing soiled cash throughout Europe, funnelling drug and arms trafficking income into lodges, supermarkets, and actual property. What higher option to disguise in plain sight?
The Mafia’s iron grip
The mafia’s stranglehold isn’t restricted to companies. In a weird twist, a Catholic nun was lately arrested for allegedly carrying mafia messages to prisoners. And earlier this 12 months, the Italian authorities expanded a controversial programme to take away kids from mafia households, aiming to interrupt the cycle of legal behaviour handed down like a household heirloom.
With the Jubilee and Winter Olympics on the horizon, the mob’s urge for food for money is just set to develop. Rio referred to as their techniques “a perverse system that crushes entrepreneurs, strengthens the mafia’s energy, and suffocates the economic system.”
What’s subsequent for Italy?
Italy’s tourism trade is at a crossroads. Can it shake off the mafia’s chokehold earlier than main international occasions make issues worse? Or will the nation’s lodges and eating places stay a money cow for organised crime?
One factor’s for positive – the struggle in opposition to the mob is way from over if Italy needs to reclaim its tourism crown.
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