"Come to Italy" Promotional Video Turns Out to Be Slovenia

New Tourism Campaigns Criticized One After Another with Directors and Props from Different Countries

It has been revealed that part of a promotional video created by the Italian Ministry of Tourism to attract tourists was actually filmed in Slovenia, sparking controversy. In Italy, there are criticisms calling it "embarrassing" along with accusations of "waste of taxpayers' money."

According to the Italian daily newspaper Il Fatto Quotidiano on the 24th (local time), a 2-minute and 52-second promotional video released by the Italian Ministry of Tourism shows a scene of a group of young men and women drinking wine and laughing in a sunlit courtyard, which was confirmed to have been filmed in the neighboring Slovenian region of Koper.

A scene from an Italian tourism promotional video revealed to have been filmed in Slovenia.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

One netizen also discovered that the wine bottle on the table in the video had a label reading "Koper Wine."

According to another local media outlet, the scene was directed by Dutch director Hans Peter Scheyff.

They pointed out that the video, which should have been "the most Italian," contains no Italian elements in terms of filming location, props, or director.

Tourism Ambassador Venus AI Also Criticized as 'Embarrassing'

Botticelli's Venus appointed as Italy's new tourism ambassador.
[Photo source=Venus Instagram capture]

In addition, criticism has poured in over the new tourism campaign released by the Italian Ministry of Tourism titled "Open to Wonder."

On the 22nd, the Italian Ministry of Tourism selected Botticelli's Venus as the new tourism ambassador. Venus is a figure appearing in "The Birth of Venus," painted by the 15th-century Italian master Botticelli around 1488. The Ministry unveiled a version of Venus dressed in modern clothing, traveling around various tourist attractions in Italy, created using artificial intelligence (AI).

In the promotional video, Venus takes selfies at Piazza San Marco in Venice, rides a bicycle in front of the Colosseum in Rome, eats pizza in sleeveless attire on a terrace near Lake Como, and also appears wearing a miniskirt.

After posting these scenes on the social media platform Instagram, Venus introduced herself by saying, "I am thirty years old. Yes, I might be a little older," and "I am a virtual influencer."

Criticism quickly followed on social media. Netizens harshly criticized it as "tacky," "embarrassing," and "clich?." It is reported that criticism has also arisen within the Italian government. After it was revealed that 9 million euros (approximately 13.2 billion KRW) were spent on the campaign, accusations of "waste of taxpayers' money" increased.

Daniela Santanche, Minister of Tourism, explained that the 9 million euros covers total costs including promotion at airports and cities worldwide, and said, "Portraying Venus as an influencer is intended to captivate young people."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.