Conferenze e Fiere

🍷 "La Primavera del Castellinaldo," a two-day event, celebrated the Castellinaldo subzone of Barbera d'Alba, attracting 600 accredited guests, featuring over 40 wines, involving 21 producers, and selling out three masterclasses of 60 people each. The final dinner by Chef Davide Odore highlighted Castellinaldo Barbera d'Alba Doc in culinary creations. The Vinaioli del Castellinaldo association, since its 1992 inception, has promoted local viticulture and achieved official recognition for "Castellinaldo Barbera d'Alba" on August 21, 2021.

🍺 Nonno Nanni, a leader in fresh cheese production in Italy for over 75 years, will be at the Parizza fair on April 2 and 3 at Paris Expo Porte de Versailles. They aim to strengthen their market position in France through Italat France, a distributor of premium Italian food products. They'll showcase a range of fresh cheeses and other Italian specialties like prosciutto, Grana Padano, pasta, tomato, and olive oil. The event is a chance to promote authentic Italian taste and high-quality ingredients for premium pizzas and gourmet pasta dishes.

🛫 Transavia, part of Air France-KLM, launched a new route to Trieste with its inaugural flight landing yesterday, establishing a connection to Rotterdam. The airline offers three weekly flights on this route every Tuesday, Friday, and Saturday, with the Saturday flight shifting to Sunday in July and August. Flights are operated with a B737-800 with 189 seats. Trieste Airport CEO Marco Consalvo welcomed Transavia as the fifth airline at the airport, noting the route's potential to boost tourism and commerce between the Netherlands and the Friuli Venezia Giulia region.

🏡 Direct flights from Forlì to Vienna by Go To Fly make Styria and Carinthia more accessible from June to September. A webinar on Tuesday, April 16, from 14:30 to 15:30, hosted by Austria Tourism and Austria Vacanze t.o., in collaboration with TTG Italia, will detail the new market offerings. Travel agencies in Emilia Romagna and Central Italy can benefit from custom travel packages that include these new flights, exploring UNESCO city Graz and Klagenfurt, as well as nearby regions. The webinar will feature experts Kathrin Ploder-Augurusa, Laura Corbetta, Elke Maidic, and Belinda Schagerl.

✈ Volotea launches a direct flight connection from Ancona Airport to Madrid starting December 19, during the Christmas holiday season. Flights will operate twice weekly on Mondays and Fridays. This marks Volotea's third international route from Ancona, following Paris Orly and Barcelona, each also run twice a week. The airline aims to boost tourist flows between Marche and Spain's capital, with prospects of making it a stable annual service based on market response. Since 2012, Volotea has carried over one million passengers from Ancona.

🏡 La Dolce Vita Orient Express, Italy's first luxury train, was inaugurated at Roma Ostiense today. Its maiden journey on April 4 will travel through the Montalcino vineyards. The project involves Arsenale, Orient Express, FS Treni Turistici Italiani, and Fondazione FS. The train offers 31 cabins, including 18 suites, 12 deluxe, and one exclusive 'La Dolce Vita' Suite, restored by Cpl and Omer using Italian railway expertise. The interiors by Dimorestudio evoke the 60s with high-end materials and design nods to Giò Ponti and Gae Aulenti. Eight routes are planned across 14 regions, featuring Michelin-starred menus by chef Heinz Beck onboard. Attendees at the launch included CEOs Paolo Barletta, Gilda Perez-Alvarado, Luigi Cantamessa, and officials like Tourism Minister Daniela Santanchè, Senate President Ignazio La Russa, and Rome's tourism councilor Alessandro Onorato.

🎢 Princess Cruises canceled all Majestic Princess sailings from Galveston scheduled between November 2026 and March 2027. The company cited a broader fleet deployment strategy. Impacted guests received full refunds, and alternative options are being provided. The Regal Princess will undertake its scheduled voyages from Galveston until March 15, 2026.

🏖 TravelBuy held its 18th convention in Malta, gathering 180 travel agencies for shared learning experiences. The event featured a partnership with Malta Tourism Authority VisitMalta and included MSC Cruises, Explora Journeys, Avis Group, and other partners. Attendees explored Malta through three educational excursions, including UNESCO heritage sites. The convention emphasized Malta's tourism growth potential, focusing on destagionalization, historical-cultural heritage, and specialized niches. The meeting concluded with awards for outstanding agencies of 2024, with Bari3 branch, led by Biagio Lops, winning the top prize.

🚣 Antonio Bufalari, Secretary-General of Assonautica, emphasizes the need for generational renewal in Italian boating. Assonautica aims to engage young people in sailing, shaping the future of yachting. The Rome Foil Festival, an investment to attract youth, will take place at Lake Bracciano from May 15 to 18. The event will feature 600 athletes from around the world competing in sailing, surfing, windsurfing, and water skiing, alongside 800 students participating in sailing activities, with 80 exhibitors energizing local lakeside villages.

🍷 Vinitaly Tourism, launched by Veronafiere during the 57th International Wine and Spirits Exhibition on Wednesday, April 9, features 63 Italian wineries and 17 specialized buyers from the U.S., Germany, Spain, and Italy. The "zero number" edition includes 172 speed dating-style B2B meetings. A study with Data Appeal reports 18.5 million arrivals and 62.3 million presences at wine destinations in Italy, with a 2024 sentiment score of 87.8/100. Piemonte and Toscana lead the rankings. Vinitaly Tourism also offers thematic conferences on the future of wine tourism.