· The schedule of 'Bringing Innovation into Travel' is taking shape: a program full of events dedicated to new trends, digital innovation and sustainability, the noble soul of the exposition, from 4 to 6 February 2024.

· BIT2024 confirms to be a representative event for the entire tourism sector. Besides being the only marketplace for the Italy product, it is also a space of discussion for a multi-target audience.

· Italy will be represented from North to South, from Lombardy to Abruzzo, Friuli and Tuscany; prominent returnees will include foreign destinations such as Japan, Tokyo City, China and, among private companies, Gardaland and the Minor Group.

Milan, 24 October, 2023 – Summer 2023 confirmed Italy as an attractive tourist destination, even and particularly in September, especially in terms of international arrivals. A record that is endorsed by the figures recently published by the Italian Ministry of Tourism: in the three summer months Italy reached 100 million foreign overnight stays in accommodation facilities.

In addition, the outlook on the coming months appears to be more than positive. According to the Bit Observatory, 44.8% of Italian rooms are already booked for October stays, a figure that exceeds the sales of 2019. Moreover, thanks to the still mild weather, booking figures for November (42.8%) and December (28.7%) are similarly higher compared to the same period of 2022; in this case, these numbers also benefit from a calendar with many long weekends.

Bringing Innovation Into Travel: headlines and trends

The schedule of conferences organized with the support of Fiera Milano's knowledge-unit, Business International, is ready once again to host significant appointments relating to the industry and beyond. Trends, innovation and sustainability will be the guiding lines of the meetings, workshops and events, thus providing an opportunity to keep up to date, to learn more about industry news and trends, and to move towards the future of tourism.

A central event on the agenda will be 'Wanderlust', where the industry's top international CEOs will gather for a discussion on tourism trends between now and the next few years. Through an integrated analysis that will focus on all major issues, such as transportation, hospitality, safety and new technologies, the conference will talk about traveling in an increasingly sustainable, conscious and personalized way, which at the same time should be also suitable for everyone, accessible and transgenerational.

This will be followed by a number of wide-ranging insights into macro-trends of the supply chain that are bringing more attention to the individual needs of travelers and workers in the industry. Corporate responsibility will then be discussed in the meeting 'Tour operators: beyond revenues comes corporate social value', while Bleisure, the form of travel that combines business and pleasure, will be dealt with in the talk 'Business travel, never again without bleisure'.

Numerous and interconnected topics focusing on innovation and digital transition will explore how these issues may impact customer-experience and operations of the industry through new tools and personalized services.

Then, the new generative software employed in travel booking engines will be discussed in the talk 'The Role of Artificial Intelligence in Travel: from Inspiration to Booking'; interactivity and immersiveness will be the main topics of the meeting 'Mice and AI, matchmaking between intelligences for a new way of communicating events'; the seminars 'The Role of ChatGpt and Generative Software in Travel' and 'Hotels: Automation, AI and Human Advice' will analyze the opportunities and limitations of artificial intelligence.

Finally, also this year there will be plenty of insights related to sustainability, so as to foster increasingly conscious and responsible choices towards travel solutions that aim to protect the environment and the economy. The debate on the relevant issue of tourist overcrowding will be central in the talk 'Overtourism, the return: strategies to avoid crowding', which will be combined with a series of insights on slow-tourism proposals as in the appointment 'Nature and tourism, the culture of the environment for a wellness vacation', an original interpretation of travel as 'detox therapy'.

A comprehensive offer for an integrated in-depth study of the tourism sector

BIT24 is not just a marketplace, but also a debating space for Italian and international exhibitors, industry professionals and relevant associations; among the latter, the trade associations FTO, ASTOI and Confcommercio-Confturismo have already confirmed their participation.

The event, which is aimed at B2B and B2C audiences, will have a comprehensive and integrated format: in addition to a rich panel of conferences, BIT2024 has announced the participation of several exhibiting countries to provide an increasingly rich and innovative offer.

Italy will be represented from North to South, with the first subscriptions coming from Lombardy, Abruzzo, Friuli-Venezia-Giulia, Tuscany and Basilicata; prominent international returnees will include foreign destinations such as China, Tokyo City and Japan.

For what concerns the companies, some prestigious names in their respective fields already confirmed their presence. In the cruise field, MSC Crociere, Giver Viaggi and Cruiseline; in the hotel industry, MINOR Hotels, a point of reference in the sector with increasingly tailor-made travel solutions. Moreover, with respect to amusement parks, should be highlighted the participation of Gardaland, an established leader in the sector across Europe.

BIT2024 will be held at Allianz MiCo from Sunday 4 February to Tuesday 6 February

For more info: www.bit.fieramilano.it, IG @bitmilano

To find out how to become an exhibitor at BIT 2024, visit this page of the website. To find out how to participate as a professional visitor, visit this page.

For updated info: bit.fieramilano.it; @BitMilano.