Italian Convention Tourism Soars With Double-Digit Progress

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Italian convention tourism is booming, with a 12% enhance in occasions and a 31.9% rise in attendance, signaling a powerful post-COVID restoration within the sector.

The Italian convention tourism sector is prospering alongside the upswing in leisure tourism, marked by a notable enhance within the variety of conferences and enterprise occasions hosted in Italy. This pattern is highlighted by the findings of the Italian Survey of Conferences and Occasions [Osservatorio Italiano dei Congressi e degli Eventi-OICE], a examine supported by the conferences business affiliation Federcongressi&eventi and performed by the Graduate College of Economics and Worldwide Relations at Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore – ASERI.

The analysis reveals that 340,057 occasions came about in Italy in 2023, reflecting a 12% rise from 2022. The whole variety of delegates reached 27,152,890, marking a 28% enhance, whereas general attendance hit 41,835,932, a 31.9% leap in comparison with the earlier 12 months.

These indicators display important double-digit development, indicating that post-COVID-19, corporations are as soon as once more closely investing in occasions equivalent to conventions, conferences, and product launches as key advertising and marketing and retention methods. Moreover, associations, significantly within the medical-scientific discipline, have resumed internet hosting congresses to disseminate and promote data and innovation.

The sturdy well being of the Italian convention tourism sector is evidenced by the 12% development price in 2023, which is thrice the pre-COVID annual common of 4.1%. Notably, attendance at multi-day occasions surged by greater than 50% from 2022. Projections for the present 12 months additionally recommend continued development in each the variety of occasions and revenues.

“The Italian MICE industry is in good health and within this trend, we can see a  phase of profound change in the meetings industry,” feedback  Federcongressi&eventi President Gabriella Gentile. “Events and conference today  are increasingly high quality and therefore require cutting-edge venues in terms of  services and technology, along with trained and constantly updated staff. At the same  time, large tourism flows and the consequent increase in hotel occupancy rates in  destinations historically associated with MICE is prompting organisers to choose  venues outside the more established circuits for events and conferences, thus  promoting the off-season and the relocation of tourism.”

Conferences and Occasions in Italy: Areas and Organizers

The vast majority of conferences and occasions in Italy happen within the North, accounting for 59%, adopted by Central Italy with 24.7%, the South with 10.2%, and the Islands with 6.1%.

Relating to venues, convention resorts are the most well-liked, internet hosting 77.8% of complete occasions. Convention facilities and commerce truthful convention venues account for 3.1% of occasions, exhibiting the best development since 2022 in each the variety of occasion days (+33.9%) and attendance (+54.7%). Non-hotel historic residences equivalent to abbeys, castles, outdated inns, farmhouses, historic buildings, and villas hosted 2.5% of occasions.

When it comes to organizers, corporations lead by organizing 66.3% of occasions, a rise of 13.5 factors from the earlier survey. Associations observe, accounting for 22.3% of occasions.

As for delegates’ origins, with the lifting of pandemic restrictions, each worldwide occasions (with a major variety of delegates from overseas) and nationwide occasions (with delegates from exterior the area) have resumed. Nevertheless, about half of the occasions and conferences stay native, attracting delegates primarily from the identical area by which the occasion is held, per earlier years.

Scientific Head of the Survey Roberto Nelli, lecturer in advertising and marketing on the  Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore commented:“The research results highlight  two fundamental aspects of the Italian meetings industry. First, the development of  conference and event venues, which testifies to the process of change taking place  within the structure of the offer, which is progressively reshaping itself to adapt to  changing market demand. Secondly, the vibrancy of the regions, which are  increasingly leveraging their cultural vocation – think of the municipalities that fall  within the “Grande Bellezza” [Great Beauty] cluster, dwelling to the 44% of venues that  host 54% of the full variety of occasion delegates in Italy – and the assorted  manufacturing specialisations of native networks, from “Made in Italy” (which, with  22% of venues, hosts 19% of occasion delegates) to city methods with a excessive diploma of  specialisation in service actions, by which 18% of venues are situated, accounting  for 27% of complete delegates, a transparent signal of how a lot the conferences business can  contribute to the event of companies from the angle of the community  economic system.”