‘Fundamental for tourists’ trust’: Why Italy is cracking down on fake hotel and restaurant reviews

Alessandro Gilmozzi is a famed chef and president of the Ambasciatori del Gusto (Ambassadors of Taste) association, which promotes culinary excellence in Italy.

He is also one of the leading proponents of Italy’s crackdown on fake hotel and restaurant reviews, which is pushing for stricter regulations for both consumers and businesses.

“Someone once wrote that he ate a panna cotta in my restaurant,” the owner of two-Michelin-starred El Molin told the Italian daily La Repubblica, “but I’ve never made that dessert.”

Gilmozzi discovered that the reviewer had never been to his restaurant and had simply made a mistake. “But you can also do damage, even in error,” the chef said.

Italy is tackling the problem of both mistaken and malicious reviews with new rules requiring proof of a visit and banning incentives for positive comments.

“Today marks an important step for the protection of our businesses,” Daniela Santanché, Italy’s tourism minister, told the media when introducing the legislation.

“Reviews, which thanks to this regulatory intervention will actually be truthful, are fundamental for the success of companies and for the trust of consumers and tourists.”

But how widespread is this problem across Italy, and what is already being done to tackle fake reviews?

False or manipulated content impacts between 6 and 30 per cent of the revenue of businesses in the hospitality and tourism sector, according to Italy’s ministry of enterprises. Many hotels contacted by Euronews Travel have had their own personal experiences of receiving reviews like this.

“Like many establishments in the industry, we too have encountered reviews that do not reflect a real experience or are clearly influenced by external factors, such as unfair