Fusioni & Acquisizioni

🌍 Mapo Travel's Mapo World brand saw a +40% increase in bookings in 2025 compared to 2024. Elena Foglio joined the Turin office, with new travel itineraries to Peru and China added. More than ten Italian-speaking guided group tours in Canada were enhanced. New departures are set for November to Japan from Rome, Milan, and Venice, and to South Africa from Rome and Milan. August offers immediate confirmation packages to the East from major airports.

🏦 Italian Exhibition Group (IEG) reports a record-breaking balance sheet for 2024, with revenues reaching €250 million, up €37.6 million from the previous year. As the most profitable Italian trade fair company in 2024, IEG's pre-tax profit soared by 97.8% to €40.7 million. The CEO, Corrado Arturo Peraboni, highlights organic growth in core trade fair products such as KEY and Vicenzaoro, and investments supporting their 2023-2028 Strategic Plan. EBITDA adjusted is at €65.9 million, a €16.4 million increase, with an EBITDA margin improvement to 26.4%. EBIT adjusted reached €47.7 million, up €16.3 million, while net profit grew by €19.3 million to €32.5 million. Organized Event revenues, covering 61.8% of total, rose by 27% to €154.6 million. Acquisitions in 2024 include 51% of Palakiss S.r.l. for approximately €1.3 million, Expo InfraFM in Brazil, and a 51% stake in Vending Expo S.r.l. for about €4.1 million.

✈ Malaysia Airlines celebrated its service milestone with a return flight from Kuala Lumpur to Paris' Charles de Gaulle Airport, boasting high occupancy rates of 95% and 98% on the inaugural outbound and return flights, signifying strong demand for travel between Malaysia and France. From March 22 to 27, 2025, the airline will operate four weekly flights, transitioning to daily flights starting March 29. A partnership with American Airlines allows travelers access to additional U.S. destinations from Paris, including New York (JFK), Dallas (DFW), Miami (MIA), and Orlando (ORD).

🛳️ The 2025 Venice cruise season began with Viking Star, a luxury segment ship, carrying approximately 1,800 passengers at the Fusina terminal. Coming from Capodistria, alternating between Venice and Chioggia through September, it will visit Split, Dubrovnik, Corfu, Messina, Naples, Civitavecchia, Livorno, Villefranche, with a stop in Marseille, ending in Barcelona. Viking Star has 465 cabins and is a small-sized ship, aligned with Vtp's sustainable cruise model. Venice and Chioggia's ports expect 644,000 passengers, up from 634,000 in 2024, with 514 calls (492 last year). Ocean cruise lines visiting the lagoon will increase from 21 to 25, with ships rising to 50 units (from 45), including 4 new in Venice. Over 95% of cruises operate in 'home port' mode, and high-end ship calls are expected to rise by 16%.

🍕 Chef Express, part of the Cremonini Group, inaugurated a new food hall at Padova railway station on March 20, with a €2 million investment. The food hall offers brands like Italico, McDonald's, and soon Alice Pizza, creating around 60 jobs. Padova's station, with approximately 11 million passengers annually, enhances the commercial and urban experience. Chef Express operates 560 outlets with a 2024 turnover of €827 million, with a presence in 54 railway stations, 15 airports, and manages 57 roadside dining areas, plus 120 trains served daily in 5 European countries.

🏡 Armani Hotel Milano joined Preferred Hotels & Resorts' Legend Collection, located in Milan's fashion district at the historic Manzoni 31 building. The hotel has 95 rooms, offers services such as dedicated Lifestyle Managers, Armani/Ristorante, and Armani/SPA with six treatment rooms, a couples suite, steam, sauna, and a relaxation pool. Roberta Possenti, Vice President Europe of Preferred Hotels & Resorts, expressed delight in welcoming the hotel to their collection. Guests can enroll in I Prefer Hotel Rewards, part of Preferred Hotels & Resorts which represents over 600 properties in 80 countries.

🌷 Napoli's Orto Botanico, established in 1810, hosts spring celebrations on March 21 with two new recipes by local artisans. The Botanical Garden, spanning 12 hectares, is home to over 9,000 plant species and 25,000 specimens. Pâtisserie Di Costanzo created "La vie en rose," a cake blending strawberries, champagne, and rose water. Opposite, Pizzeria OWap's "Botanic Vibe" pizza features edible flowers, toasted chili, fior di latte, grilled eggplant and zucchini, feta, and Kalamata olives. Customers are encouraged to wear floral outfits and are gifted a special flower pin badge.

🏦 Ernesto Preatoni's company debuted on the Paris Stock Exchange in February, eyeing a real estate and tourism project in Latin America, specifically Cuba, akin to the Coral Bay project that popularized Sharm el Sheikh in the early '90s. A team appraised his global tourism assets at €361 million, with a prudent 15% discount for geopolitical instability over five years, covering areas like Domina Coral Bay, a Dubai tower, Domina Zagarella in Sicily with 380 properties, Domina Milano Fiera hotel, and the ProKapital group in the Baltics. Expansion plans for the D-Club loyalty program and the hotel chain are set, with potential announcements during the 2024 balance sheet presentation.

🌊 Ara Maris, a lifestyle hotel in Sorrento, partners with Maya Beach Experience, the renowned beach club in Sorrento Peninsula. Guests of Ara Maris can now enjoy exclusive experiences, blending the hotel's refined elegance with the beach club's glamorous, cosmopolitan atmosphere. CEO Niccolò Manniello emphasizes offering an authentic, sophisticated, and immersive experience. Benefits include guaranteed beach club reservations, discounted entry, complimentary roundtrip transport, and a free welcome drink for each guest.

🌊 Ponant, now rebranded as Ponant Explorations Group following a majority stake acquisition by Aqua Expeditions, aims to reach a revenue target of one billion euros. This rebranding signifies the cruise company's intent to "accelerate growth" and introduce new travel solutions.