Italy outraged over easyJet ad referencing mafia in south

Italian officials voiced outrage Tuesday over an online advertisement by budget airline easyJet describing the southern Italian region of Calabria as lacking tourists because of its history of mafia and earthquakes. “The original intent of the text was to underline how Calabria has been overlooked overseas from a tourism point of view,” the statement said.

Italian officials voiced outrage Tuesday over an online advertisement by budget airline easyJet describing the southern Italian region of Calabria as lacking tourists because of its history of mafia and earthquakes. Opposition leader Matteo Salvini of the right-wing League party said easyJet should be ashamed of itself. Calabria's governor, Jole Santelli, said the text on easyJet's website was "offensive, distorted and had a clear racist flavor." In a Facebook post Tuesday, Santelli said she appreciated that easyJet had apologized and removed the text, which was promoting flights to the Calabrian city of Lamezia. But she said the best way to remedy the "unprecedented gaffe" would be to increase flights to the region.

Located in the southern "toe" of boot-shaped Italy, Calabria is indeed home to the 'ndrangheta organized crime syndicate, but it also has spectacular beaches, national parks and other tourist draws. It was largely spared the recent coronavirus outbreak and is eager to see tourists return for the peak summer season. In the original text, easyJet wrote that Calabria offered visitors an authentic taste of Italy, even though it had "bizarre houses" perched on cliffs. "This region suffers from an obvious lack of tourists due to its history of mafia activity and earthquakes and the lack of iconic cities such as Rome or Venice that can attract Instagram fans." Italian news agency ANSA quoted an easyJet statement as apologizing to all Calabrians and the region. "The original intent of the text was to underline how Calabria has been overlooked overseas from a tourism point of view," the statement said.

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