ITALY (eTN) – The Sala Leonardo at Expo Gate is a new image in the piazza of the city as it gears up for the Expo in Milan. The city of Milan has launched a program to open a discussion on how the piazza will be redeveloped after the Expo, and the first part of research on outgoing travel markets, “The changing preferences of Italian travelers,” is being sponsored by Bit 2015, and conducted by Mercury Srl-Tourist and edited by Emilio Becheri and Ilaria Nuccio.

“The research,” said Cristina Tasselli, Exhibition Manager of Bit, “was implemented as part of the ‘Think with Bit,’ created for the repositioning and the new concept of the Fair (Travel Mart), aimed at sharing the wealth of know-how to show our solidarity throughout the years to the industry and to guide them in developing their activities in the markets familiar to them and to penetrate into new ones. The second part of the research will be presented at the Annual Congress on Tourism to be held on February 13th at Bit Milano.”

“Among the new features of Bit 2015,” said Roberto Foresti, Commercial Director of Fiera Milano, “is the emergence of the ‘Bit in the World project,” created to support the internationalization of incoming Italian companies, and develop business opportunities in particular to the emerging countries. Within this context is the project ‘Bit China,’ with the launch of ‘Gift,’ the tourism fair in Guangzhou, China, 49% owned by Fiera Milano. Bit offers to Italian operators interested in the Chinese market and intending to maximize their investment, an all-inclusive package, including space within the Italian exhibition area and many other services. The offer is directed to all those who confirm their participation at Bit 2015 by October 31, 2014.”

“Furthermore, there will be new exhibition sectors named the ‘Luxury World,’ an area reserved for the top excellence of hotels, spas, restaurants, DMCs, and more; ‘Digital World,’ dedicated to all the technological innovations; and a space dedicated to arts & culture and fine dining on the Italy ground of ‘Leisure World’ and ‘Mice World’ for professional meetings related to the area,” concluded Foresti.

“The research on ‘The changing preferences of Italian travelers’ was created to give maximum support in terms of business to the industry,” said Emilio Becheri, President of Mercury Ltd., “and has been based on available up-to-date figures gathered on the year 2013, and some estimates for 2014, provided by UNWTO [UN World Tourism Organization], from government offices in the countries concerned, from Istat (Italian Institute of Statistics), and other sources. The purpose is to provide information and inspiration for professionals and anyone with an interest in the development of the tourism industry.”

“According to the data obtained, about 60% of the 60.2 million Italian residents travel for business, holidays, and family reasons. Increased foreign travel, where [there] is noted a shift from west to east, many are short, as short breaks, and differentiated over time thanks to the many possibilities offered by low cost.”

In detail, in 2013, Italians in travel have exceeded 34 million, or 57.5% of the population, for a total of 63,154,000 trips, or 1.84 trips per person. Of these, about 75% remained in Italy: Lombards – 71.7% of the population in the first place, followed by Piedmont with 71.6, and 70.1% with Lazio. According to the study, “the average propensity to travel by Italians is 57.5%, with a decrease in the regions of the South, a fact to consider in evaluating the incoming policies.”

Italians who went abroad were about 20.2%. The primacy of Lazio is 22.9% more per unit of population, followed by Lombardy and Piedmont, with 22.5% with 17.8%. The average propensity is 16.2%.

Which countries were favored by Italians abroad? The study involved about 28 destinations, plus San Marino, an interesting district that is very popular for short breaks. In the first place, it is confirmed as France, with Spain second, and third being Germany. Along with tourism, records show an interesting business move, and the UK, which is the fastest-growing market among foreigners. The top 10 also includes Austria, Croatia, and Greece – always very appetizing but with high prices; the US, with an increasingly positive trend; and Egypt and the Red Sea that should return to growth.

Among the emerging destinations that should be emphasized are Turkey, Slovenia, Hungary, Portugal, Ireland, Tunisia, Morocco, Cyprus, with Brazil and Thailand both emerging in tourism for young spiritual experiences, as well as India, which is steadily increasing, and of course China, where growth in the Italian market is thanks to many business relationships. In the fall, after the big boom is Cuba and Seychelles.

India is recording a steady growth, as is China where the Italian tourist market is above expectation, also due to good economic relations. Cuba and the Seychelles has slowed down, following a period of growth.