A “luxury” trip through Italy has been promised to ultra-rich tourists by the updated luxury train “Oriental Express”, which allows fat people to travel through the Apennines on approximately 12 routes. As stated in the European media, tourists who can pay for this attraction from 6.6 thousand to 25,000 euros per night will be offered a carefully thought-out version of Italy for the super-rich. However, local experts doubt whether this will not cause additional social protests and “touristophobia” in real – and poorer – Italy, which is already actively developing in the country.
The details are as follows: the train, or rather super-luxury trains, of which there are six or eight planned, is to launch the new La Dolce Vita (Sweet Life) railway lines, operated by the almost legendary Orient Express – the same one that appears in the movies and books for over 100 years and captured the imagination of the Western world thanks to authors such as Graham Greene and Agatha Christie.
According to the announcements, and the project has been advertised since 2021, trains will run on 15 routes. Of them, 12 will pass through Italy alone, covering 14 of the most picturesque regions of the country with the most popular attractions. The routes will cover more than 130 cities. The other three are expected to be international – to Paris, Croatian Split, and, according to “Eastern Express”, to Istanbul. The route includes 16,000 kilometers of railway lines throughout the peninsula.
The asking price is also very impressive: a deposit of 500 euros, the cost of tickets in double rooms for one night from 6,600 euros to 25,000 euros – again per night. This caused legitimate questions in the press. Their essence boils down to one thing: “Is it ethical for the super-rich to show off their wealth in a region whose residents barely scrape by to put food on the table.”
“Half of the routes planned for the railway connection will pass through the countryside of southern Italy. Although the southern half of the country is full of stunning historical monuments and great cuisine, it is also where the poorest regions of the country are located. In some regions of the south, such as Campania, the level of material evasion reaches 15%. This means that more than 800,000 people in this region alone cannot buy basic food every two days or keep their homes warm in winter,” Italian experts say. The average annual income of local households is about 20,000 euros a year, and the poorest do not even reach 10,000 euros a year – so that is about the price of a suite for two at La Dolce Vita, they add.
“You will pay for the least amount of authenticity. The program features dozens of ultra-rich people enjoying an exotic version of a country that doesn’t exist. All these high-paying customers will be in their reality of old Eastern Express trains and movie classics – and will run on the rails paid for by Italian taxpayers – even though they will not have enough money to even travel an hour on this train”, – the press is outraged.
That is, ordinary Italians indirectly finance a service they cannot use, while the “ordinary” railways leave much to be desired and create a feeling of neglect by the state. And if we remember that it is Italy that sets the tone for the movement that proclaimed “Tourists, get out!” – the risk that the “elitist” train will only fuel public protests.