A 9-step journey throughout 2021 dedicated to Italian SMEs. #italianEXPerience will be divided into a series of forums dedicated to the main Made in Italy supply chains to offer sector insights, share best practices and present UniCredit’s initiatives.

 

2:00 min

Today saw the launch of #italianEXPerience, a 9-step journey throughout 2021 dedicated to Italian SMEs, with the first event dedicated to Tourism. #italianEXPerience will be divided into a series of forums dedicated to the main Made in Italy supply chains to offer sector insights, share best practices and present UniCredit’s various initiatives. On the sidelines of these events, B2B meetings will be held on the Digital Pavilion digital platform, which is being initiated today and will allow the organization of real "virtual trade fairs" where selling companies will be able to meet foreign (and domestic) buyers.

Today's Forum on tourism was opened by Stefano Gallo, Head of Territorial Relations at UniCredit, and Marina Lalli, President of Federturismo Confindustria. Silvia Zucconi of Nomisma presented data from the Nomisma-UniCredit Tourism Observatory on the sector's evolutionary scenarios. This was followed by institutional greetings from Massimo Garavaglia, Italian Minister for Tourism. 

The event was closed by Alessandra Rocchi, UniCredit Territorial Relations Support & Developments Plan Manager. 

The day continued with a B2B on UniCredit's digital platform Digital Pavilion, attended by 100 selling companies and 12 buyers, 5 Italian and 7 from Poland, Slovenia and Denmark.

 

UniCredit-Nomisma Tourism Observatory

Nomisma and UniCredit have created the Osservatorio sul Turismo (Tourism Observatory), a tool for monitoring the changes taking place in one of the sectors most affected by the pandemic: tourism and hospitality. Conceived with the aim of understanding the needs of new Italian Travellers, the Observatory offers policy makers and sector operators a snapshot of the evolving scenarios of Italian hospitality that can be used to draw strategic lines of development and relaunch of the entire supply chain. Amidst changes forced by the Covid-19 context and the advent of new needs, a new traveller is being defined who - even once the health emergency is over - will carry in his or her personal baggage the effects that 2020 has produced on the way of facing and living everyday life.

 

Italians who travelled during the summer of 2020 (55% of the population aged 18-65) chose to spend their holidays in small villages (51%) and in locations surrounded by nature (50%), providing a preview of the trends that will accompany tourist demand in the coming months.

Food and wine represent one of the strongest expressions of the link with the territory visited. It is therefore not surprising that 3 out of 10 Italians who went on holiday in summer 2020 sought out experiences in local restaurants. 15% also went on food and wine tours and 10% visited farms and wineries. 

The survey carried out by Nomisma for UniCredit on hotel and non-hotel operators also considers food and wine and identity aspects to be the real keys to recovery.

 

Food and wine and territorial aspects will also be key elements in the services offered by operators to travellers in the next 2-3 years: 28% of operators will offer food and wine tours in the area to help tourists discover local food and beverage products, while 24% will offer a menu with local products in their hotels.

The cultural heritage and landscape of the territory is - already today - an important driver of tourist locations. For 1 operator out of 5 it is therefore fundamental to offer - already during the booking phase - a virtual tour so that the traveler can see and taste the territory he or she will visit in advance.

The next #italianEXPerience event, dedicated to boating, will take place on 25 May.