Distribuzione e Revenue

💸 Business travel maintains an upward trend in 2025, with the BTT Travel Value index by Uvet Group reaching 108 in January, marking an 8% rise from 2019. Transactions also grew to 81, while the average expense increased by 6 points from January 2024, with a BTT value of 132. The average flight expense rose by 4.3%, driven by an 11.3% surge in intercontinental flights. European flights increased by 6%, domestic flights remained stable at a 2.3% growth, and the hotel sector saw a 5.7% rise in average spending. The rail sector's average spending went up by 3.6%, while car rental experienced a slight decline of -1.8%.

🌍 European tourism increased by 6.3% in foreign arrivals in Q4 compared to 2023. Overnight stays rose by 4.8% annually and 5.9% from 2019. Tourists spent 7.8% more in 2024, totaling 705 billion euros. Iceland's winter tourism grew by 14% since 2019. Long-haul travel remains 5% below 2019 levels, affected by slow recovery in Asia Pacific arrivals, especially from China.

🌍 Dina Ravera, CEO of Destination Italia, aims to make the company the 'Alpitour of incoming' for Italy's tourism sector. Lacking a major player, the market is filled with small to medium enterprises. Ravera focuses on the high-spending market segment, with the U.S. accounting for 40% of presences and the company's strategic New York office opening. Destination Italia seeks to guide tourism flows and capitalize on the tourism traffic recovery and increased average prices.

🛫 Biman Bangladesh Airlines celebrates one year since resuming flights between Rome and Dhaka, with a positive track record. Shahriar Ahmed, a board member, highlights Italy as the second-largest European market after Britain and the only EU country with direct flights to Bangladesh. Rome's Bengali community numbers nearly 200,000, contributing to a 90% load factor from Rome Fiumicino in 2025, signaling a growth trend. Francesco Veneziano from Distal notes that 48% of passengers to Dhaka chose Biman, crediting direct flights and national pride. The airline now targets Italian and European leisure travelers, leveraging a deal with Ita from November to connect to various destinations in Europe. Shahriar anticipates further consolidation and growth in connections next year, with Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur within 4 and 5 hours, respectively.

📍 eDreams Odigeo records strong growth with its Prime subscription program surpassing 7 million subscribers. Cash Ebitda grew to €42.6 million in Q3 2024, a 70% increase from Q3 2023, hitting €123.7 million over nine months, up 40% year-on-year. Cash generation jumped 91% to €68.4 million in Q3. Marginal cash profit grew 27% to €201.4 million, and revenues reached €172.7 million in Q3, up 13%. In nine months, revenues hit €533.9 million, a 5% increase, with adjusted net income at €14.5 million. Targets for March 2025: 7.25 million Prime subscribers, €180 million cash Ebitda. CEO Dana Dunne anticipates continued growth and subscriber base expansion.

🏠 Italy surpassed Germany as a top market for tourism in Spain, with a 7.4% passenger increase from international airports compared to the same month in 2024. Italian travelers grew by 13%, reaching 715,044 (11.2% of the total) in January, while German visitors were 707,435 (11.1%), up by 2.9% from January 2024. France accounted for 465,430 travelers (7.3%), and the Netherlands for 289,619 (4.6%). Madrid notably received over 12,000 additional arrivals.

🌍 Key players in the tourism industry, like Matteo Bolognesi of Alpitour World and Luca Campanati of Neos, stress the importance of evolving client profiles demanding services focused on sustainability, gender equality, and over-tourism awareness. Successful destination creation involves collaboration between tour operators and airports, analyzing flight performance and managing seat capacity. Accessibility remains crucial, as noted by Sofia Gioia Vedani of Planetaria Hotels, particularly in less connected areas like minor Italian islands. Cruise companies like Carnival Corporation and Costa Crociere respond to accessibility challenges with private islands and Sea & Land Destinations. MSC Group's Leonardo Massa highlights the cruise ships' role in combating over-tourism by organizing flows and offering development opportunities for destinations. Meanwhile, Beppe Pellegrino from Going Resort remarks on the shift from intuition-based destination creation to client-specific experiences.

📍 GCC's hospitality industry eclipses pre-pandemic levels with an occupancy rate of 69.5% in 2024. Saudi Vision 2030 and UAE's We the UAE 2031 initiatives boost economic diversification, infrastructure, and tourism quality. Average daily rate (adr) grows by 2.4%, with the luxury hotel segment significantly contributing. Over 35,000 new hotel rooms added in the last decade, 19% luxury category, up from 16%—33,000+ luxury rooms under development.

🏖️ In 2024, Italy confirmed its position as the European market with the highest annual growth of tourists to Portugal, following a similar trend from 2023. The country welcomed 860,700 Italian guests, resulting in 1,992,200 overnight stays, marking a 4.5% and 1.8% increase from the previous year. Tourist revenue from this market reached 699 million euros, up by 3.7%. Overall, Portugal experienced 80.3 million overnight stays in 2024, a 4% growth, with resident overnight stays increasing by 2.4% and non-resident overnight stays by 4.8%. The UK led the market share at 18.1%, followed by Germany (11.3%) and Spain (9.7%), while Italy comprised 3.5% of total overnight stays.

🏃 In 2024, Langhe Monferrato Roero, Piemonte, saw foreign tourist arrivals increase by 4%, reaching 694,282, up from 667,549 in 2023. Overnight stays rose by 5.2 percentage points to 1,547,536, exceeding one and a half million for the first time. Foreign overnight stays accounted for 60.9% of the total. Top five foreign markets showed growth: Switzerland (+7.3%), Germany (+7.8%), Netherlands (+24.9%), United States (+3.3%), and France (+10.2%), with significant increases from Spain (+16.3%), Czech Republic (+35.1%), Portugal (+50.2%), and New Zealand (+37.3%). However, the UK and Austria saw a decrease in visits by 12.4% and 1.5%, respectively.