Ermeti (President): "We want to build a new era of tourism together with the industry's leading players."

A grand opening for two major trade fairs in a sector that is symbolic of Italy and the region that hosts them. TTG Travel Experience and InOut | The Hospitality Community, the two tourism and hospitality events organized by Italian Exhibition Group (IEG), opened this morning at the Rimini Expo Center (open until October 10). 2,700 exhibiting brands spread across 26 pavilions and 1,000 buyers from 75 countries attended the three-day event, featuring meetings, business, and insights into global tourism.

The inaugural ceremony was attended by Don Massimo Vacchetti , director of the Pastoral Care of Sport, Tourism and Leisure of the Diocese of Bologna, Maurizio Ermeti , president of the Italian Exhibition Group, Jamil Sadegholvaad , mayor of Rimini, Roberta Frisoni , councilor for Tourism, Commerce and Sport of the Emilia-Romagna Region, and Daniela Santanchè , Minister for Tourism.

Greeting those present, Ermeti highlighted all the major changes affecting the world of tourism in recent years: "The title we chose for this edition of TTG is 'Awake to a New Era,' a title that in itself is a jolt, an invitation to awaken from habits and customs, because the facts are teaching us how tourists and the very way of doing tourism have changed since the Covid era. Today, no one likes being part of the crowd anymore. When looking for a trip, everyone wants a motivating, authentic, and personally engaging experience. Tourism is facing a macroeconomic, social, and political paradigm shift, and a metamorphosis of tourism is underway. Our task is to provide appropriate responses. This, then, is the role and responsibility we take on with TTG and Inout: we don't limit ourselves today, and we won't limit ourselves in the future, to simply photographing what's happening, but we will increasingly be a platform for ideas, a hotbed of projects, a continuous opportunity for discussion and inspiration. Here, at TTG and Inout, we want to build the new era of tourism together with the sector's key players."

For her part, Daniela Santanché , Minister of Tourism, said: "This year's Rimini TTG follows the first WTTC Global Summit in Italy, which reaffirmed the sector's strategic role as an economic and social lever. The investments announced at the summit's conclusion, amounting to €8 billion, will support growth, employment, innovation, and infrastructure development for a sector that contributes 13% of GDP and jobs. Furthermore, we expect this contribution to grow further over the next ten years, reaching 3.7 million people employed, over €280 billion in GDP, and over €220 billion in tourism spending. Meanwhile, this year Italy has continued to achieve record results in terms of occupancy rate and attendance, confirming its position as a European leader and strengthening its seasonal adjustment. The Government will continue to support the sector."

Also at the ribbon-cutting ceremony was Gianmarco Centinaio , Vice President of the Senate of the Republic, who stated: "Tourism is at the center of many changes, and TTG Travel Experience is a privileged vantage point for understanding and understanding them. Organized tourism operators can find answers here about the future of their profession, the services they should implement, and the international markets that can be opened or strengthened in the coming years, both for incoming and outgoing visitors. And we can all better understand how to promote and enhance the enormous and diverse heritage that Italy has to offer potential visitors. This is therefore a great opportunity for those who want to better understand and invest in one of the most important and representative sectors of the Italian economy."