Italy’s BIT Returns to the Face-to-Face Format in February 2022

By Massimo Terracina

Simona Greco, global exhibitions director of Fiera Milano, presents the 2022 edition of BIT, the Italian Tourism Exchange which, (hopefully if nothing happens for pandemic situation), will be back in attendance after last year's virtual experience at Fieramilanocity from Sunday 13 to Tuesday 15 February.

“There is a strong desire to meet again to do business - explains Greco - in a phase of scenarios still being defined, BIT 2022 will represent a unique opportunity to check the trend of the sector and enhance the emerging trends from a business point of view. We need to look at tomorrow's trends today to be ready when the appropriate time comes. According to the UNWTO (United Nations World Tourism Organization) barometer of 28 November, in the period July-September 2021 international arrivals increased by 58% compared to the same quarter of the previous year. And precisely Europe recorded the best relative performance in the quarter, approaching 50% of pre-Covid levels”.

This moment must be exploited to help the recovery and, never as today, what has been the reference event of Italian tourism takes on a strong specific importance.

“There are many trends that could drive the recovery and we have identified some to focus on - continues Greco - In the foreground, sustainability is increasingly important: the report on Italians, sustainable tourism and ecotourism by the UniVerde Foundation highlights that for the 74% of compatriots sustainable tourism is the safest in the current phase, while 71% consider it more ethical and closer to nature and 84% also see it as an opportunity for economic development.”

And this segment includes a new sense of care for the environment and nature, the search for well-being in all its forms, the cultivation of passions rediscovered during lockdowns and, among the niches that will see those who grow next year, not giving up traveling with the four-legged little friends, sustainable food and wine and digital nomads.

In this context, BIT 2022, the first tourist event of the year in Italy, thanks to the rich group of Italian and international exhibitors, will represent a new moment of networking with all the players in the supply chain to intercept new business opportunities while travelers, on the opening day to the public, they will be able to know the proposals of the operators and the offers of the tourist destinations that respond to the new travel needs of the "new normal".

A multi-target formula, capable of combining a platform for the encounter between international supply and demand with a moment of confrontation and fundamental dialogue to enhance emerging trends.

It was said to anticipate trends and decline them in a business key, both in the exhibitors' proposals and in the contents of a rich conference program, will be even more the great added value of BIT 2022.

The Areas and the Hosted Buyer Program

To meet the different needs of operators, the event will take place in three areas, characterized by key themes for tourism: Leisure, MICE, Be tech.

Within Leisure, supply and demand will meet, from food and wine tourism to slow and sustainable tourism to proposals from all over the world.

BeTech will bring together companies that offer business & networking services and exclusive digital and social content, both physical and virtual. It will represent the soul of BIT that looks at the technological avant-garde in the sector and offers them unprecedented visibility.

The MICE Village will be the area entirely dedicated to the sector of events, meetings and conferences, reserved only for MICE operators and top buyers. It will include everything related to business travel and corporate proposals.

A Large Schedule of Events

Capitalizing on the positive experience of sharing knowledge in the digital edition of 2021, as well as the consolidated tradition of face-to-face events, at BIT 2022 the exhibition area will be complemented by a rich schedule of conferences, conventions and in-depth seminars. This year the Sustainability area will be added to the four traditional macro-areas Food Travel, Travel Lab, Hot Topics and Travel Tech, which will also be a cross-cutting theme in all areas as well as innovation and the new "duty of care" towards the traveler.

There are many and interconnected themes in the Food Travel area, dedicated to food and wine tourism. The event 'The perfect combination of digital solutions and local experience' will talk about how food and wine tourism is evolving more and more in a state of mind, an experience enabled by the encounter between innovation, tradition and territoriality.

And again, the 'Food and wine tourism, greener, more inclusive and social' event will explain how in this segment the traveler feels a growing desire to participate in experiences characterized by a green approach.