Tourism trade show, BIT (The International Tourism Exchange), to be held in Rho, Milan, from February 9 to 11, 2025, will take stock of the most interesting trends for operators, while it continues to work on consolidating the attendance of exhibitors.
The event will serve as a platform for knowledge-sharing and in-depth discussions, said the event organisers.
With topics ranging from regenerative tourism to the key role played by events and the impact of digitalisation, the anticipations of the last BIT edition have become this year’s trends, remarked Fiera Milano, a trade fair and exhibition organiser headquartered in Milan.
This year’s edition is set to witness a 7 percent increase in the exhibitor numbers over last edition, he stated.
Key Trends identified by BIT 2025 are:
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 percent of Italians are interested in at least one of these in 2024 (doubled from 2023), while 50 percent, including Millennials and Gen Z, say they are interested in taking this up in the future, (source: EY).
Coolcationing – One of the most notable 2024 innovations is 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 (source: Isnart), up to real adventure holidays, which in Europe alone translates to more than 100 million international trips per year (source: Adventure Travel Trade Association).
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 to these new themes
BIT (Borsa Internazionale del Turismo) 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.
A scenario of recovery
Globally, 2023 ended with 1.29 billion international arrivals, a strong growth compared to 2022, when they had been 960 million. And Europe confirmed itself as the top destination with around 700 million arrivals, more than half (54 percent) of the total.
The tourist expenditure figure is also remarkable: 1.7 trillion dollars in line with pre-pandemic values (source: UN Tourism). Regarding Italy, 2023 closed with 133.6 million arrivals (+12.8 percent compared to 2022) and 447.1 million presences (+8.5 percent) (source: ISTAT).
What is in store for 2024?
Although the sector will face challenges such as overtourism and rising costs, the overall picture is positive. UN Tourism also estimates further growth in international arrivals in the first three months of the year at 285 million (+19 percent over 2023) while, according to the May 2024 survey of the European Travel Commission, 75 percent of Europeans intend to make at least one trip this summer, +3 percent compared to last year.
Italy confirms itself as the most appealing destination (8.4 percent of travel intentions) followed by Spain (8.1 percent), France (7.1 percent) e Greece (6.3 percent), and about half of the travellers will be repeaters.
Again, according to ETC, the target group most likely to travel are the over-55s (81 percent), while solo travellers (61 percent) and those travelling with friends (58 percent) are the most interested in multiple holidays. And while the importance of the sun & beach segment is confirmed, more and more tourists are also looking for natural beauty (19 percent), local cuisine (17 percent), culture and monuments (15 percent).
The air traffic data from Italian airports says: in May alone there were 20.1 million passengers (+13.2 percent over 2023) and over 159,000 movements (+10.3 percent) (source: Assaeroporti).
Analyst Forward Keys predicts a further +12 percent for international arrivals: the long-haul portion, led by the United States (+14 percent over 2023), is set to grow, as are the proximity markets, notably including Spain (+44 percent), Denmark (+43 percent) and Austria (+30 percent).
Looking abroad, the Welcome Travel Group observatory reports particular interest in Egypt, Greece and the Balearic Islands in the short to medium haul range, while in the long haul range, the queen of the summer is North America, followed by Japan, the Caribbean, Thailand, Madagascar, Kenya and Zanzibar.
Also worth mentioning are cruises, which again in 2024 see Italy as the leading European destination, with an estimated 14 million passengers (compared to 13.8 million in 2023) and over 5,200 berths in no less than 60 ports.
