By focusing on human travel, BIT 2023 is contributing to the renaissance of travel

MILAN – There is a desire to travel again in Italy and around the world. This confirms the attendance of exhibitors at BIT 2023on st Allianz MiCo in Milan from Sunday February 12 to Tuesday February 14, reinforcing the growth recorded in 2022. And this is also supported by industry data.

According to January UNWTO barometer, the number of international tourists doubled in 2022 and is expected to return to pre-pandemic levels this year. More than 900 million tourists traveled abroad in 2022, double the number in 2021 and accounting for around two-thirds (63%) of pre-pandemic travel. Europe remains one of the favorite destinations for travelers worldwide and has already reached almost 80% of pre-pandemic levels, welcoming 585 million arrivals in 2022.

In this scenario, Italy also stands out with positive dynamics. Banca d’Italia notes that in the first nine months of the year, the Bel Paese received around 56 million travelers from abroad, almost double the number in 2021 (+94%), narrowing the gap to 26% compared to the pre-pandemic figure. .

Italy is becoming more and more people-friendly

This desire will be satisfied at BIT 2023 by both professional operators (during the three-day event) and travelers (only on Sunday 12) in a true virtual tour of the world, especially in terms of a sustainable, conscious and slow experience, and starting precisely from Italy.

A holiday spent learning how to make honey with a real beekeeper, or participating in the olive harvest, taking home a bottle with your name and surname, or discovering the properties of rare flowers and plants in historic gardens, are just some of the offers of slow tourism from the north to noon.

To give a few examples: in Calabria you can take a walk to discover the remains of ancient Greece on the paths around Isola Capo Rizzuto, while in Rotandello in Basilicata tourists will learn how to cook Pastizz’, a traditional meat calzone, with local housewives. In Apulia, you can walk the ancient Via Appia, a candidate for UNESCO World Heritage status, and in Maliza, you can walk the Via di San Francesco. In Central Italy, the Marche and Umbria offer cycling and mountain biking routes, while in the north Friuli-Venezia Giulia is reviving five routes, including the ancient Ram Road, and Lombardy is focusing on the mountains with a renewed offer of small hotels and non-ob’ ects of the hotel.

No less attractive offers come from Abruzzo, Campania, Emilia-Romagna, Liguria, Piedmont, Tuscany, Sardinia, Sicily and Veneto, as well as from cities and municipalities such as Abbiategrasso, Capocelle, Cefalù, La Maddalena, Macerata , Magento or consortia and other organizations, including the Best of Western Sicily, the UNPLI Lombardy Regional Committee or the Pollino and Aspromonte National Parks.

A world of sustainable and responsible travel

Operators and travelers looking to cross borders will find plenty of international offers for all distances and experiences in the leisure area at BIT 2023.

In the short and medium range, a unique historical heritage marked by a meeting of cultures is at hand in Sarajevo or Thessaloniki, with the rest of Greece or in the even closer San Marino, while for an alternative Croatia it is possible to set a look at the natural wonders of the interior, maybe go to the nearby mountains of Slovenia, the Carpathians, Romania or Moldova. Ideal places to alternate sun and sea with excursions nearby are Formentera, Ibiza and Gran Canaria or very green Portugal. On the southern coast, Algeria offers a different perspective of the Mediterranean Sea and the Sahara, as well as the oases and unique landscapes of Egypt, Tunisia, Morocco, Palestine, the desert city of Salt in Jordan, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the kaleidoscopic immersion of Israel and the rock churches of the Caucasus in Georgia or Armenia. .

Nature, history and culture await those willing to fly a few extra hours, for example to Thailand, where you can experience an authentic organic farm 30 minutes from the beach in Pateng. On the Indian subcontinent, you can take a river cruise through the lush nature of Kerala. Halfway to Africa, Mauritius stands out for its combination of sea, landscapes and many cultures. On the continent, Senegal is one of the must-visit places of the year, from the natural parks of Sine-Salum to the great Lake Retba, along with Namibia with its pristine beaches and the incredible Kalahari desert with its half-buried “ghost town”. » Kolmanskopo.

On the other side of the world, new offerings in the Americas include the new Nicaragua with its rainforests that hold 7% of the world’s biodiversity, with neighboring Costa Rica, Ceara in Brazil with its emerald seas, forests and impressive waterfalls, or Uruguay with hiking and horseback riding in pampas and photographic ocean whaling safaris, as well as slow classic Southern Cone vacations such as Peru, Bolivia, Galapagos and Patagonia, and destinations that lie between wilderness and bustling metropolises such as Argentina. Further north in the Caribbean, the tropical paradise of Cuba is also presented from a responsible perspective.

Supply chain players are making a comeback

In the tourism collection, the desire to revive the sector is even more evident with the arrival or re-affirmation of many big names among the industry’s main stakeholders. Of particular note are the presence of carriers, including the debut, if not the return with a new look, of ITA Airways, which introduces new connections, and the participation of international companies, including Air Europa, Air India, Eva Air and Fly Dubai. Trenitaliawhose network of high-speed lines is considered one of the best in the world, and Trenord, which is involved in the extensive renewal process of regional transport in Lombardy, will also be present at BIT 2023.

The tour operator’s portfolio is also very rich, combining, as usual, famous names with the most interesting niches. The latter include such sentences as Australis or Avenida del Sol from Latin America, Nordic Unique Travel, D Travel or Whale2Sea from Europe; Shiruq, Mamberto, Rephouse, Compagnia del relax in Italy. Among the top players gathered in the ASTOI village such as, Alidays, Alpitour, Costa Crociere, Eden Viaggi, Futura Vacanze, Gastaldi Holidays, Guiness Travel, Idee Per Viaggiare, Isola Azzurra Viaggi, Kel 12, Meridiano Viaggi, Naar, Nicolaus Tour, Ota Viaggi, Quality Group, Hotelturist-Th Resort, Turisanda , Veratour, Viaggi Del Mappamondo. Among the associations it is also worth noting FTO – Federazione Turismo Organizzato (Federation of Organized Tourism).

In the section Hôtellerie titles Belstay Hotel, Best Western Italia, Blu Hotels, GB Hotels, Gecoand Space hotels, stand out among others. In addition to leisure, the dedicated MICE Village area will feature the best of business travel, while the BeTech area will feature digital transformation offerings from some of the sector’s most exciting and dynamic companies.

More and more discerning travelers prefer tourism based on environmentally friendly criteria and, at the same time, on ethical and socially fair treatment of local communities. Based on this belief, BIT has also started the process of measuring the CO2 emissions arising at all stages of the event’s life cycle using an LCA (life cycle assessment) approach in order to take targeted actions to improve efficiency and reduce environmental impact. The initiative, which is part of the Group’s wider Sustainability Plan, confirms Fiera Milano’s commitment to actively contribute to the decarbonisation of events in line with the objectives of the Global Net Carbon Zero Events initiative.