STORY: Restaurant in China's Italian Style Area benefits from surge in tourists
SHOOTING TIME: July 19, 2024
DATELINE: July 27, 2024
LENGTH: 00:02:10
LOCATION: TIANJIN, China
CATEGORY: SOCIETY

SHOTLIST:
1. various of the Italian Style Area
2. SOUNDBITE 1 (English): RENATO PEGORARO, Owner of Venezia Club Italian Restaurant & Winery
3. various of the Italian Style Area
4. SOUNDBITE 2 (English): RENATO PEGORARO, Owner of Venezia Club Italian Restaurant & Winery
5. SOUNDBITE 3 (English): BRENDA OLVERA, Tourist from Mexico
6. SOUNDBITE 4 (English): FERNANDA OLVERA, Tourist from Mexico
7. various of the Italian Style Area
8. SOUNDBITE 5 (English): GABRIELE PEGORARO, Co-owner of Venezia Club Italian Restaurant & Winery
9. SOUNDBITE 6 (English): RENATO PEGORARO, Owner of Venezia Club Italian Restaurant & Winery

STORYLINE:

Located on the main street of the Italian Style Area in north China's Tianjin Municipality, Renato Pegoraro's family restaurant has recently seen a surge in foreign diners.

The surge comes with China's introduction of visa policies facilitating visits for foreign tourists.

SOUNDBITE 1 (English): RENATO PEGORARO, Owner of Venezia Club Italian Restaurant & Winery
"In 2008, I opened officially the restaurant. We make coffee, some special wine from Italy, pasta, pizza. Then we improved time by time. And we started to have a lot of customers.
We see that from the government opened with visa, there started to arrive a lot of foreign people from Europe, from Africa, from Asia, from Russia, from Australia and so on."

Founded in 1902, the Italian Style Area has more than 100 buildings. 

It's the only well-preserved Italian-style architectural complex in Asia today, attracting a significant number of tourists.

SOUNDBITE 2 (English): RENATO PEGORARO, Owner of Venezia Club Italian Restaurant & Winery
"The Italian town has a long story. It's a nice area."

SOUNDBITE 3 (English): BRENDA OLVERA, Tourist from Mexico
"I was impressed by China, because it's so safe, and it's easy to move. And Tianjin also, I'm impressed. I love the culture. You go to a place, and then you find amazing buildings. And then you move to another place, (you will see) different buildings. So it's really amazing."

SOUNDBITE 4 (English): FERNANDA OLVERA, Tourist from Mexico
"This is my third time in China, visiting different cities, and I fell in love with China. And I wish someday I can live in China because it's so beautiful."

To better serve international tourists, the Italian Style Area has improved its payment environment, facilitating international card payments.

Pegoraro's family restaurant is also adapting to this trend by catering to a broader range of appetites.

SOUNDBITE 5 (English): GABRIELE PEGORARO, Co-owner of Venezia Club Italian Restaurant & Winery
"For international market, there are VISA, MasterCard, American Express, Diners. Customers now are able to pay in every kind of way that they are used to going."

SOUNDBITE 6 (English): RENATO PEGORARO, Owner of Venezia Club Italian Restaurant & Winery
"Our menu is very rich. We have a plate for many different people that want to have some kind of food. We are ready now to accept customers from everywhere."

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Tianjin, China.
(XHTV)