According to the WTO, there are about 25 million luxury travelers in the world and, although these constitute only 3% of the total number of tourists, they produce 25% of overall revenues, equal to more than 116 billion euro a year. The segment is continuing to grow, at a pace of up to 10% in the last 5 years, and is also evolving rapidly from the point of view of quality.

The outbound markets are changing, with China and India in the lead. In India, the upper middle-class comprises 80 million people, and Italy (made popular by the settings of many of the Bollywood films) is one of their favorite destinations.

In order to support operators to develop this segment in an effective, systematic way, Bit2015 is dedicating the new Luxury World section to luxury: a club of excellence, with an interesting, pleasing layout for exhibitors from Italy and abroad and travel buyers from all over the world. The exhibitors will represent 5-star hotels, elegant residences on lakes, spa resorts, iconic hotels which have become symbols of cities, luxurious historic residences, boutique hotels, charming mountain refuges, shopping malls, DMCs and luxury services.

The Luxury World area is a key component of Bit2015’s new philosophy: an all-in-one concept which, for the first time in the sector, has succeeded in getting away from the old geographical style of tourism events, establishing a new standard for the various product sectors, gathering them together under one roof to emphasize the areas of common ground and multiplying the opportunities for doing business.

The other two specialized areas of Bit2015, next to Leisure World, will be MICE and Digital World.

Bit2015 is at Fiera Milano at Rho from February 12-14, 2015.

Bit2015, www.bit.fieramilano.it