Ryanair and Regione Lombardia have presented the results of their strategic partnership, which saw a significant increase in bookings from London to the Lombardy region of Italy.

The project – which began in October 2019 – featured a multi-channel communications campaign promoting Lombardy as an exciting destination in the UK market, focusing on the London area.

The results of the campaign and partnership between the Regione Lombardia and Ryanair are very clear: reservations during the six-week campaign activation from London Stansted to Milan Bergamo grew by 26 per cent compared to the previous year, while the route to Milan Malpensa saw an increase of 43 per cent for the same period.

More than 3,000 direct reservations were generated by dedicated channels, while the visibility on social media received 3.8 million impressions and a total reach of 2.4 million.

Ryanair has been a key player in the development of the Lombardy region as a tourist destination, thanks to the direct regional connectivity with Milan Malpensa and Milan Bergamo airports, with different schedules throughout the year.

This target is based on the success of Milan Bergamo which – through the support of Ryanair – has grown from a regional airport to the third largest airport by traffic volume in Italy.

The total traffic on Milan generated by Ryanair will reach 14.5m passengers per year (+4.5 per cent), with over 120 routes, by summer 2020.

Head of sales and marketing at Ryanair, Chiara Ravara, said:

“Ryanair is pleased to announce the excellent results achieved by the partnership with Regione Lombardia, which ran for six weeks between November and December – but will continue to positively impact the region into 2020 and beyond.

“Through this campaign, we invited our customers to explore the Lombardy region, beyond the capital of Milan, and to discover its 12 fascinating cities and the hidden precious treasures, from various points of view: culture, food and wine, wellness and winter sports.”