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Bit – International Tourism Exchange

The Bit of tomorrow is taking shape: From the concept to tha layout

In addition to the traditional Leisure area, Bit2015 – the exhibition that serves as a touchstone for the tourism industry in Italy, in its 35th edition at fieramilano in Rho from Thursday 12 February to Saturday 14 February – will also include an area dedicated to MICE.

MILAN – In order to constantly create new business, one needs to be able to think outside of the box. It’s also necessary to be able to transform innovative ideas into concrete opportunities. And this is the revolutionary philosophy behind the new Bit – International Tourism Exchange, the first in the industry organized by business segments, with the layout taking shape day after day.

In addition to the traditional Leisure area, Bit2015 – the exhibition that serves as a touchstone for the tourism industry in Italy, in its 35th edition at fieramilano in Rho from Thursday 12 February to Saturday 14 February – will also include an area dedicated to MICE; an elite space for the Luxury segment, which will be expanded with new representatives from Lombardy and Tuscany; and Digital World, an area dedicated to innovation via technology. Specifically, the Leisure area will host a space for Italian culture, food and wine. The Destination Sport area is also brand new. This space dedicated to travellers has been created in collaboration with Decathlon. It is to only be open on Saturday. Destination Sport will host small agencies that offer sports packages for various disciplines and meant for the various target markets, which include a growing number of sporty travellers.

More than 2,000 companies, which will be available to the 1,500 buyers from Italy and abroad and the 3,000 journalists expected, will be able to take advantage of this new concept. These numbers will build on the success seen at Bit2014, which industry professionals saw as the Bit show transitioning toward the future. There were more than 62,000 visitors and 20,400 business matches and about 3,600 professionals who participated in more than 70 events.  

In addition to the many companies that have already confirmed they will be present, there are to be consortiums, convention bureaus, tour operators, large hotels and tourism boards from places like Palestine, China, Cyprus, Korea, Croatia, Japan, India, Israel, Malaysia, New Caledonia, Poland, the Dominican Republic, Thailand and Tunisia.

Bit2015 is also establishing itself as the top marketplace for supply and demand. The new meet&match formula, which allows for exhibitors to set up appointments directly in the stand, is seeing success. And there are various regions considering participating in both the Leisure and MICE and Luxury areas.

“The only way our country will see growth again is by focusing on our areas of excellence, from food to fashion to design” says Enrico Pazzali, CEO of Fiera Milano Spa. “But our true excellence is Italy itself, which has a unique heritage of beauty thanks to its nature, history and art, which can’t be found elsewhere. This is why Bit, the most important tourism show in Italy is at the centre of our group’s internationalization strategy, and this is even truer during the year of Expo. The great investment made in this new concept testifies to this. This concept is unique in the industry as it is even more focused on developing new business opportunities and increasing the number of buyers.”

Bit2015, in fact, will increase the number of hosted buyers in its new programme to 1,500 participants (+50% on 2014) from more than 70 countries, including, 250 Italian buyers, who for the first time will be able to purchase offers from abroad. The 10 countries that will be most represented, not including Italy, stand out for being a balanced mix of traditional strong markets and emerging economies: the U.S., Germany, Russia, UK, India, Brazil, China, France, Austria and the Netherlands. The dedicated Buyer Office for Bit is already carrying out research on the various segments of the show – Leisure, MICE and Luxury – and is seeing great turnover as compared to Bit2014.

The focus of the market is especially on luxury, a segment that, which has been already pointed out, is being less affected by the economic situation. Double-digit growth, as per data out of the Bit Observatory, is being seen especially from the emerging markets, including China, India, Russia and Brazil, and Italy is one of the top destinations.
Furthermore, while the average tourist allows himself one or two trips a year, the luxury client take as many as four. For some markets, this number increases if the number of short breaks is counted as well. This is how 89% of German interviewees, 49% of Italian interviewees and 40% of French interviewees responded.

The objective of the club par excellence Luxury World is to develop this potential. In order to meet great demand from the industry, it has increased in size. Thanks to the refined layout, the space dedicated to luxury will offer key players from Italy and abroad – from 5-star (or more) hotels, spa resorts, boutique hotels and other services – the chance to take part in a business matching program with a schedule and format in line with the high-end offering. All of this in an elegant yet relaxed environment, complete with a Luxury Buyer Lounge and Luxury Restaurant for more informal interactions.

Digital World is also starting to take shape with an exhibition area that will flank key players and start-ups. This will be rounded out with the rich programme offered in the  Digital Arena, with some of the events organized in collaboration with Amadeus. Here the hottest topics of the moment – from mobile to the customer journey and the interplay between online and offline channels in buying travel products – will be taken on. The  Annual Tourism Congress will be moderated by Gianni Riotta, a journalist from La Stampa (moderated for the international audience by William Ridgers, journalist and travel & tourism correspondent for The Economist).  New research will be presented by Think with Bit, the Bit think-tank. This time it is dedicated to A Journey into Made-in-Italy Luxury and is provided by Emilio Becheri and Ilaria Nuccio of Mercury-Turistica. There will even be a talk show that will involve tour operators and networks and will be moderated by Roberto Gentile, an expert in retail in tourism and the author of two books on the subject. He is also a partner in and CEO of Frigerio Viaggi.

And the Bit2015 experience doesn’t stop with the three days of the show. It will continue on throughout the year with the support of the marketing and organizational team as well as a strong presence on social media and a new website (online mid-October), which will also include a blog that will allow professionals to interact and to give a voice to exhibitors.

Co-Founder & Managing Director - Travel Media Applications | Website | + Posts

Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.

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