Innovation and consulting with the market were top priorities for the 32nd Bit - Borsa Internazionale del Turismo [International Tourism Exchange], which ended on Sunday at Fieramilano. Bit 2012, whose exhibition concept included separate and dedicated routes for operators and travellers, is placing more emphasis on business.
Bit BuyItaly, the top workshop in the world for the Italian product, evolves in line with market requirements: thanks to match-making between supply and demand, 18,050 meetings were organised, compared to 13,000 at Bit 2011 (+38%).
This year, a good 43% of the 500 international Top Buyers which met with 2,000 Italian sellers were new entries. In particular, buyers from Germany, the United States, Great Britain and Russia demonstrated a strong interest in buying the Italian product.
Bit BuyClub, the club tourism workshop, also achieved good results, with new entries amongst Italian and international Top Buyers accounting for 77%.
89,800 attendees participated in Bit 2012 (-11% compared to Bit 2011), including 54,600 professional operators and 35,200 travellers. Three days dedicated to the business, operator pre-screening and an agenda packed with meetings: Bit 2012 shows its new focus on business.
"In the current economic environment, Bit 2012 is careful to listen to the needs of a developing market, which is affected by changes underway in the tourism industry. This edition of the exhibition - explains Marco Serioli, Director of the Fiera Milano Exhibitions Division - shows that the trade show, once again, is a fundamental tool for business growth and is able to anticipate changes.
Bit 2012 satisfied the needs of professional operators to analyse the market in more detail. New ways to maximise and optimise business with best practices were presented during meetings and discussions on the hottest innovation topics: reviews and travel blogs, social media and social commerce and public-private networks in local systems. The calendar of 13 workshops, conducted in partnership with Business International, involved over 2,000 participants with an average of 150 attendees per session. Meetings with international destinations in the dedicated Destination Room were also very well-attended.
The workshops were also a source of first-hand information on trends in all markets for our incoming. Bit 2012 brought to light a prominent trend for foreign travellers to bypass the classic tour of art cities and the sun and sea holiday, to discover smaller towns and regions less affected by tourism, to "live" the experience of the Italian lifestyle.
Amongst holiday types, Italy's success as a food and wine tourism destination and honeymoon location continues. Specialised trips concentrated on Italian music, such as classical and opera, and on parks and gardens, small villages, fashion and design, are increasing.
This edition also marks Bit's focus on social networks: on the opening day, Thursday 16 February, the hashtag #Bit2012 was the Top Trend on Twitter. The Bit Community smart platform, developed by Fiera Milano, which reproduces online the network of trade show relations, registered approximately 22 thousand posts and news updates, 18 thousand photographs, more than 1,600 albums and over 3,700 videos from around 300 sources.
Bit 2013 will be held in the fieramilano district in Rho, from 14 to 17 February 2013. |