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We live in le marche and many new agro-tourismo enterprises seem to have opened up this year.The standards seem to have improved and certainly the one nearest us offers some of the best food in the area,
We went in the middle of August for a meal and the accomodation was full-I think only ½ûÂþÌìÌà guests.
In our inland bit of le marche the food is a bit repetetive but the prices are not bad for the customer.
I think a back-up income may be required for anyone thinking of setting up in a small way in the bed and breakfast market.
If you go the full subsidy route you may be looking at officialdom that will make your eyes water.e.g.I am applying to have a brass plaque mounted near my studio and excludingthe cost of the plaque it will cost me 600 euros in getting permission-if I am lucky.

[QUOTE=Angie and Robert]Can any residents of Le Marche or anyone with knowledge of the province comment on the following : -
As I understand it a few years ago the province was being referred to as 'The New Tuscany ' , meaning it would become a more popular destination for tourists. The regional government spent money promoting the region and many foreign residents set up B & B's and Holiday apartments in anticipation of this increase in visitors. I am under the impression that this has not happened to the degree expected . The regional tourist board ( or whatever ) are disappointed and accommodation providers are finding it difficult to get bookings .
Is this an accurate understanding of the situation ? Is it likely to change ? Also does anyone know how I can contact the government tourist people for advice and information should I wish to involve myself in providing tourist related facilities or activities?[/QUOTE]

Yes,it's true.In 2004 presences registered in the region were down by 400.000.The trend in 2005 is unfortunately little better if at all ( data will only be available much later in the year.The bulk of the missing presences is attributed mainly to the country's acute economic problems and therefore the drop is mostly seen in ½ûÂþÌìÌà visitors.However the number of Germans was also significantly down (the Germans are the largest group of foreign visitors to the Marche- almost three times more Germans than Brits come to the region).Whilst the region is attempting to promote the place in a wider fan of countries ,continuing economic difficulties make it an up hill journey at the moment.At the same time ,it has to be said, the offer has increased notably over the last few years to the point where one might even feel that the "cake" is even more subdivided.The appalling management (and total underfunding) of the national park of the Monti Sibillini authority certainly does not help develop the importance of internal tourism in the region.
Regional/provincial tourist boards can be contacted they won't put you off but you can expect little or no help from these who move in a totally political environment.If you have any questions or if you want to talk about these things please feel free to send me a pm.-and of course good luck.

If you are simply looking for potential rather than living in Italy, I would suggest the developing market over the Adriatic sea, but you'll need to be quick...

Dear Angie & Robert:

The article on Le Marche - The New Tuscany was posted in the New York Times on May 22,2005. It is worth to read as it describe our region as unspoiled and somewhat magical.

My wife Silvia & I renovated a farm 2 years ago in Offida, Le Marche. and converted it into a B&B (sounds familiar?).

We intended at the beginning to obtain grants or subsidies to alleviate the renovation costs but realized that there are so many conditions attached to that "free" money that we opted out.

The region is georgious and lifestyle very appealing but if you are thinking about quick return on investment, it probably will not happen as fast as you think.

The accomodations in our area (Ascoli Piceno Province, Le Marche Region) are fairly decent as the standards have improved considerably (so have the prices!).

Despite my comments, it is still a good place to invest while enjoying life. Certainly more exciting than looking at your monthly interest in your bank account!!!

Arrivederci & Good Luck

Jacques Bellemare
Nascondiglio di Bacco
[url]www.vinoffida.com[/url]

"The region is georgious "

Thank You, I am genuinely touched :D

Thanks for the replies. Just to clarify - we are intending to move to Le Marche permanently by Christmas, but are in the process of selling our house here to fund the move. We are hoping we can make a living from tourist related activities, but have a few other ideas too in case this doesn't turn out to be enough . We want to get some idea if it is still possible to make a modest living in this way.