The Italian corporate segment has always provided the national industry with a constant flow of work, accounting for as much as 48.7% of total conference attendance. We asked some buyers their views on the international supply-side operators exhibiting this year.
FLORENCE, ITALY – BTC, the one and only Italian exhibition dedicated to the meetings & incentives industry, to be held in Florence at Fortezza da Basso from 11 to 12 November, is a good opportunity for foreign exhibitors interested in Italian demand.
The most recent surveys by Osservatorio Congressuale Italiano show that the demand for meetings in Italy primarily depends on the corporate segment (64%), and then on scientific associations (13%), political bodies (12%) and other associations (11%). Consequently, Italy is the destination for a full range of formats: conventions, incentive trips and team-building events, as well as professional conferences (especially for the medical industry, which still accounts for a substantial portion of revenue for Italy’s meetings industry, despite the decline in pharmaceutical sponsorships), and political and association congresses.
Although affected in recent years by shrinking budgets, the corporate segment has always provided the national industry with a constant flow of work, accounting for as much as 48.7% of total conference attendance. It is therefore not a surprise that many new exhibitors come from abroad. Among them, we would so far highlight two countries: the Dominican Republic and Switzerland, which is not new to the fair, but this year is doubling its presence through the efforts of Ticino Tourism, with four new exhibitors: the hotel Astoria Betriebs (Lucerne), Hotel Seepark and Interlaken Congress & Events (both of Interlaken) and Lugano Convention Bureau.
Nadia Colaiuda, managing director of Viaggi & Incentive, a Triumph Group International company, co-organiser and partner of BTC, commented: “We pay great attention to foreign exhibitors, because we think they perfectly match a demand like Italy’s, always looking for glamorous destinations. We have three offices abroad (in London, Brussels and Shanghai), the same number as we have in Italy”.
Buyer Mabel De Bernardi, owner of service company The Differences, said: “One of the nicest -and most requested– things we do is to take Italian managers, professionals or stakeholder groups to India, mainly to New Delhi and Mumbai but also elsewhere, and let them present their products to local managers. It happens mostly for food services and design skills, both segments in which Italian know–how leads the field, but also for other products/services, such as biomedical equipment, marble polishing etc. These presentations, which actually closely resemble educational courses, are very valuable, because they are held by top experts and thus add significant “Italian” value, which in many sectors is very highly regarded all over the world”.
Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.
