It's often been seen as a solution looking for a problem.
There are some places where it's unique characteristics will carve a niche. Longer distance trips (for helicopters) where speed is of the essence appears to be it's strong point.
Aside from a few VIPs who might be worth the cost, search and rescue offshore comes to mind - as long as you don't need to pick up too many people. Oil rig support for deep-water wells is another possibility - especially for parts that put a rig down for production. At a price of lost production goes up with the price of oil, the tilt rotor will be very attractive.
And then there are the few relatively remote,but not too distant locations that can't be serviced by fixed wing and are too far away for current helicopter support. Expensive, but may be necessary for medical purposes, for example.
I'm sure there are others, but essentially it's going to fit between a helicopter and a fixed wing, and needs to find it's own market.
And there is always the possibility that it will create another market.
I have faith that Agusta will have the political will to make this happen.