Italian Tourist Board Goes Under Spotlight at IBTM Events

The Italian Tourist Board, Enit, announces an exclusive year-long partnership with IBTM Events which includes: IBTM World Virtual 2020; IBTM Asia Pacific 2021; IBTM Americas 2021, and IBTM World 2021.

The partnership will be launched at the first of those events, IBTM World Virtual which takes place online from 8-10 December 2020. Enit will infuse the virtual event with a strong spirit of Italy by taking a leading role in what is the MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions) industry’s main global event, which for over 30 years has brought the industry together to do business, network and gain expert insights.

During IBTM World Virtual, event buyers will be able to meet with 23 Italian companies from the seven regions of: South Tyrol, Emilia Romagna, Friuli Venezia Giulia, Liguria, Piedmont, Puglia and Veneto. The event provides an online agenda for each delegate, who can organise up to 30 appointments and tailor-made meetings between suppliers and pre-qualified hosted buyers.

As well as increased profile at the various IBTM events throughout the year, Enit’s annual partnership will include a series of compelling webinars and a themed blog dedicated to Italy’s Cities of Art. This engaging blog is designed to inspire business travellers to make the most of their time in Italy and enjoy the vast benefits of mixing business with leisure. Specially designed itineraries to match every interest will be available via this exciting blog series.

Maria Elena Rossi, director of marketing for Enit commented, “We are delighted to announce this strategic partnership between Italy and IBTM Events. The MICE market is incredibly important to the recovery of tourism in Italy which has been severely impacted by COVID-19. We look forward to a productive event this month and an ongoing partnership into 2021. In terms of revenue, the overall expenditure of travellers from abroad in Italy for work reasons was 5.8 billion euros in 2019, a growth of 5% compared to 2018. Medical science (17%), technology (15%) and science (13%) are the three most popular international meeting themes leading us to focus on innovation in the MICE sector for 2021.”

Michael Jones, Event Manager, IBTM Asia Pacific and IBTM Connect, commented: “The partnership with the Italian Tourist Board, Enit, for the entire annual IBTM portfolio events cycle cements what is an excellent working relationship between the two organisations. We work closely with ENIT across our portfolio and are looking forward to working with them to deliver some engaging added-value content to help event organisers plan meetings and events in this beautiful part of the world again, when it is safe to do so.”

This year, the live conference sessions and forums at IBTM World Virtual will address some of the pressing issues of the travel industry such as: recovery from the global pandemic; technology; crisis management; sustainability; future trends; and more. Despite being a virtual event IBTM World Virtual will maintain the exemplary standards to which the sector has become accustomed and will continue to connect high-level decision makers from all over the world.

The virtual event will take place from 07:00 to 22:00, to allow access to different time zones around the world. The percentage of buyers present is distributed as follows: 60% Europe, 17% North Americas, 13% Latin America, 8%, Asia and Pacific, 2% ME.

Confirmed partners on the Enit stand at IBTM World Virtual