connected to the perennially popular destination than Perillo Tours. For 77 years, three generations of the Perillo family have perfected the art of traveling to Italy, making Perillo Tours America’s leading tour operator to the country. Today, Steve Perillo carries on the legacy of his father and grandfather – he’s easily recognized from his commercials – keeping Italy the company’s primary focus. 

“Italy is beloved for so many reasons – the incredible food, art, historical sites, charming small towns, beautiful coastlines – and despite a long pause in travel, the interest in and demand for Italy never wavered,” said Steve Perillo, president and owner of Perillo Tours. 

In fact, Italy was named the number one international destination that travelers are booking for 2022 according to a survey conducted by the tour operator members of the United States Tour Operators Association (USTOA) in November 2021. 

Confident about a robust year of travel to Italy ahead, Perillo added a new 13-day culinary themed tour through Rome, Perugia, Florence, and Bologna for 2022. The 2022 Italy travel portfolio includes nine escorted itineraries ranging from nine to 14 days. 

New For 2022 

The new 13-day Flavors of Italy itinerary focuses on the destination’s famed cuisine with visits to Bologna, Florence, Perugia, and Rome. Starting in Rome, guests will learn the secrets of la cucina romana with a hands-on pasta cooking class in a centuries-old underground cavern. This foodie journey also features a chocolate tasting at the Perugina Chocolate House, a trip to Acetaia Giusti, the world’s oldest balsamic vinegar producer, a Tuscan wine tasting led by a local sommelier, an olive and truffle oil tasting, city tours, and plenty of free time to shop, explore, dine and taste locally recommended specialties. Price starts at $3,995 per person, based on double occupancy. Available departures run through October 2022.

In addition, Perillo Tours offers eight core Italy itineraries ranging from 14-days exploring Rome, Sorrento, Florence, Venice and Milan, to nine-days in Rome and the Amalfi Coast. All 2022 departure dates and pricing are now available for booking at www.perillotours.com. Each Perillo Tours itinerary includes hotels, sightseeing with expert guides, transfers, baggage handling, daily breakfast, select scheduled meals, tips, taxes, free time for self-discovery, and complimentary Wi-Fi on all Perillo coaches. 

Perillo’s Travel Planner

While travel to Italy may have slowed down in 2020 and 2021, Steve Perillo did not. In February of this year, the company debuted Perillo’s Travel Planner, an innovative online booking system that was granted a U.S. patent. The custom FIT travel planning system allows travel advisors to effortlessly create and book complex multi-city itineraries throughout Italy in one simple transaction. 

Bookable services available through Perillo’s Travel Planner include international flights, rail tickets, car rentals, and chauffeur services, as well as hundreds of Perillo’s privately contracted hotels, villas, day tours and unique activities. 

There are two basic ways for travel advisors to book using Perillo’s Travel Planner. First, from a library of Suggested Itineraries which can be booked as-is, or after editing. Second, by using the Custom Planner offering a blank canvas upon which the advisor controls every element of the trip planning process. 

According to Perillo, “The system’s most important feature is the Suggested Itineraries module. Here, dozens of expertly crafted itineraries can be booked with one click or edited according to a client’s wishes. Days can be added or subtracted, hotels can be swapped-out and activities chosen.”

Perillo continued, “Every popular destination has a dozen or so logical itineraries that feature the must-see highlights. An advisor can start out with the most popular itineraries, and then customize it according to their customer’s wishes.”

Built for the travel advisor community, the booking system can also serve as a “sketchpad” to examine various travel options and pricing. While navigating the booking system, the user’s resulting itinerary is displayed on a map, calendar, and in traditional list form. The resulting trip can be booked or saved which allows the plans to be shared with clients or travel companions. Custom itineraries can be saved for months, allowing for changes before final purchase. 

Perillo Tours is offering 15% commission to advisors who complete bookings on Perillo’s Travel Planner. Future plans call for a white label version allowing advisors to incorporate their agency’s branding and mark-ups.

Created by Perillo, the user-friendly system received a United States Patent for its unique ability to prepare multi-destination travel itineraries including an interface that permits users to readily make changes to the itinerary. The co-creators of the software are David Geil, CTO of Perillo Tours and Jeff Joyce, CTO of Travel Sciences, Inc. 

Travel advisors interested in learning more about the system can watch a brief introductory video at www.perillotours.com/tpintro. For more information on Perillo’s Travel Planner, visit www.PerilloTours.com/Book