Tourism trade show BIT (The International Tourism Exchange) set to take place in Rho, Milan, from February 9 to 11, 2025, will serve as a platform for knowledge-sharing and in-depth discussions – from regenerative tourism to the key role played by events and the impact of digitalisation, the anticipations of the last edition have become this year’s trends, said organiser Fiera Milano, a trade fair and exhibition organiser headquartered in Milan.
The show has reported an increase of 7 per cent exhibitors over the last edition.
TRENDS IDENTIFIED
The buzzword is emotional travel under the banner of green awareness and the pursuit of spaces and times for wellbeing.
Monitoring lifestyle trends reveals new forms of tourism such as combining holidays and work – workation, bleisure, team bonding and digital nomadism; 12% of Italians are interested in at least one of these in 2024 (doubled from 2023), while 50%, including Millennials and Gen Z, say they are interested in taking this up in the future.
One of the most notable 2024 innovations is ‘coolcationing’, the search for ‘cool’ holiday destinations as a response to climate change and global warming.
However, the whole world of outdoor, active and nature holidays is growing in general – from spiritual walks to cycle tourism, which generated 56.8 million travellers in Italy in 2023, with a return of 5.5 billion euro, up to real adventure holidays, which in Europe alone translates to more than 100 million international trips per year.
Events are in the foreground with major ones such as the G7 and the summer and winter Olympics setting the scene. The latest ICCA report indicates that, in just five years, Italy has gone from sixth to first place in Europe and second in the world for conference tourism, with no fewer than seven cities in the global Top 100. In Italy, the role of Milan stands out. Thanks to one of the largest congress centres in Europe, Allianz Mico, managed by Fiera Milano Congressi, it hosts major international conferences.
BIT’S RESPONSE
BIT 2025 will focus on a constant evolution of the exhibition formula, which sees a new location at Fieramilano in Rho: the areas dedicated to Leisure, Italy and World will benefit from a more linear layout and smoother access, especially on the day open to the public of travellers on February 9.
There will also be a new hospitality area and events with high social potential to engage younger travellers and Gen Z, in particular.
The conference programme ‘Bringing Innovation into Travel’ will spotlight topics such as the role of continuing education in the industry, with a focus on the digital sphere and the customer experience, in response to the increasing demand for qualified personnel.
The event will shine the spotlight on next-generation technologies such as AI, with its impact on personalising the journey, optimising operations and improving customer interaction.
Sustainability and emotion-driven tourism will also be in the foreground, the former meeting the need to expand good practices and the latter stemming from the growing awareness of travellers.
Macro-themes such as aviation, luxury, travel risk management, up to the scouting of new destinations to prepare the tourism product of the future will also be on the agenda.