Italy “on the run”: at IMEX Frankfurt, a run to promote the Bel Paese
PRESS RELEASE
ITALY “ON THE RUN”: AT IMEX FRANKFURT, A RUN TO PROMOTE THE BEL PAESE
BUSINESS TRAVEL WILL RETURN TO 2019 LEVELS IN 2024
MICE LOCATION SELECTION FACTORS CHANGE: FACILITIES WITH STELLAR REPUTATIONS AND OUTDOOR SPACES AT THE TOP OF THE LIST
FOCUS ON SUSTAINABILITY, FOOD AND WINE, ADDITIONAL OPPORTUNITIES AND HIGH-TECH EQUIPMENT
Italy is making its voice heard at one of the most important events promoting international conference tourism, IMEX Frankfurt, from 31 May to 2 June 2022, the Italian stand with MITUR and ENIT will showcase the peninsula in synergy with the Italian regions and international buyers in a shared strategic network.
This year a symbolic run, the IMEX Run, will involve all the major international buyers for a 5K symbolising a “restart”, in Italia.it branded T-shirts.
Business travel is a crucial sector of Italian tourism and is booming despite the setback caused in part by the impossibility of planning for the long term, while advance planning is one of the defining characteristics of the MICE sector. ENIT has increased its budget share allocated to the promotion of this sector, which in 2019 counted 13,254 meetings worldwide, with Italy in fifth place with 218,000 business trips, surpassing Canada in that same position in 2018.
Trends still see September, October and June as the most popular months for organising meetings, with December, January and February the least popular. Medical science (17%), technology (15%) and science (13%) are the main topics of the international meetings.
Looking at other countries, the United States with 934 meetings maintains its top position in the ranking of the 10 countries hosting the most conferences in 2019 and also remains firmly in first place in the ranking of countries by number of participants, with 357,000 delegates hosted in 2019. Germany remains in second place with 714 conferences, while France moves up to third place, replacing Spain, with 595 meetings. The UK is in fifth position and Italy, with 550 conferences hosted, remains in sixth (+5.4% on 2018). They are followed by China, Japan, the Netherlands and Portugal.
As for the number of MICE events in Italy, Rome (373 venues, around 7.0% of the total), Milan (272, 5.0%) and Florence (117, 2.2%) exceeded 100. Approximately 1,727 Italian municipalities have at least one conference and event venue: 56.7% have one venue, 31.1% have 2 to 4, 8.0% have 5 to 9 and 4.2% have 10 venues. There are 23 cities with at least 20 locations, almost 29.0% of the total. Milan is among the preferred cities, ranking eighth in 2019, joining Hamburg, Prague, Beijing and Athens. Circa 53% of congress and event venues are located in the North, 25.3% in the Centre, 13.6% in the South and 8.2% on the Islands.
Conference hotels in the region accounted for 67.3% of total venues and hosted around 81.0% of events in 2019.
According to the European Convention Bureaus, the pandemic means a continued prevalence of local and national hybrid events. In fact, a number of elements of uncertainty persist that have a strong impact on the sector. We are considering the degree to which participants will attend future face-to-face meetings, and the reduction of organisations' budgets. According to the Strategic Alliance of the National Convention Bureaux of Europe, the number of events with spending levels will still be 33% lower than in 2019, with the number of participants expected to grow again by 2024.
However, the replacement of international events by national ones, together with a reduction in average attendance and expenditure, is estimated to restore the sector’s former vibrance in 2026. "The success of face-to-face meetings in the future will have to be based on the quality of the content and on the contribution the destination can make to the achievement of the event's objectives, the combination of virtual elements, the provision of an effective networking experience, and sustainability. We must focus on the intellectual value that the destination can offer for meetings with public-private interactions. Effective networking experiences made possible by organisers will be crucial for the success and return on investment of an in-person meeting,” says ENIT CEO Roberta Garibaldi.
“If we analyse the available data, we can see an increase in importance of factors such as reputation, accessibility of places, environmental factors, climate, extra-conference opportunities, the characteristics of the accommodation facilities in terms of quality and safety standards, and how people are also leaning towards facilities with fewer rooms and more home-style hospitality. There is growing interest in facilities with outdoor areas with space flexibility, a focus on sustainability and food and wine, and high-tech equipment,” states ENIT President Giorgio Palmucci.
Francesca Cicatelli
ENIT Press Office
Mob: (+39) 392.9225216
e-mail: francesca.cicatelli@enit.it