Hospitality - The Salone dell'Accoglienza opens with a boom in visitors, doubling the numbers of 2022

With a large participation already on the first day, Hospitality confirms its role as the leading trade fair in the Ho.Re.Ca. with a complete offer that embraces all segments of the sector.

Roberto Pellegrini, President of Riva del Garda Fierecongressi , underlined how Hospitality has once again renewed its commitment to sector operators this year and commented: “We are proud to open this event, with record numbers, which far exceed those before -Covid. Today we are inaugurating an international fair, thanks to the recognition we obtained last May and which we will renew for next year. An acknowledgment that represents a guarantee of quality and reliability and that has allowed us to give ever greater impetus to incoming activities, increasing the presence of foreign buyers from several countries. We also wanted to pay great attention to the hospitality operators of the future, implementing collaborations with hotel institutes and with the presence of 11 technological startups".

With 9 pavilions spread over 40,000 m2 of exhibition space, this year the event hosts 636 exhibitors - 40% of which are new companies - and over 100 events with 150 speakers including training and experiential initiatives. An opportunity for operators in the hospitality and catering industry to find innovative solutions and tools to grow their business and remain competitive on the market.

“We have signed important agreements that make the fair a point of reference for the sector at an international level – added Giovanna Voltolini, Exhibition Manager of Hospitality . – Important novelty this year in fact, the partnership signed with Feria de Valladolid on the world of mixology and the intense scouting activity to implement the incoming of foreign buyers, with delegations from Germany, Austria, Switzerland and the Mediterranean basin, as well as selected professional operators from Central and South America. The construction of this global network mirrors the work also done at the national level to further develop those market segments with the highest growth rate. I recall the partnerships with FAITA – FederCamping, Village For All respectively on the outdoor market and accessible hospitality and other important entities such as Slow Food, the University of Gastronomic Sciences of Pollenzo and Banca del Vino”.

Hospitality 2023 was officially opened by the opening talk " The new era of hospitality ", moderated by the TV presenter Tessa Gelisio , with the direct testimonies of the representatives of the sector associations and of the hospitality industry which made it possible to focus on what the challenges facing operators. In an era that interprets hospitality as a holistic experience, with a conception of spaces extended to include ergonomics and accessibility, it is in fact necessary to think of inclusive products and solutions that aim at new quality paradigms for outdoor holidays.

“In Italy, accessible tourism represents a market that involves 127 million people with various types of needs, who most of the time do not travel alone. They are tourists who on average plan holidays of more than 10 days, with a preference for low season periods and with an average spending capacity of 120 euros per day in addition to accommodation - underlined Roberto Vitali, CEO of Village for all - V4A . – However, accessibility is a broad concept, not only and necessarily limited in the common meaning of motor disability”.

Inclusiveness is one of the main features of outdoor tourism. This was highlighted by Alberto Granzotto, President of FAITA-FederCamping : “Outdoor hospitality is experiencing a very positive period. Lake Garda in 2022 recorded 10 million visitors, especially international visitors from Germany and the Netherlands. Italy still represents a small percentage which is however expanding thanks to the greater communication skills of the offer by the operators and to a better quality of services”.

The new hospitality trends have been confirmed by Marco Gilardi, Operations Director Italy and USA of NH Hotel Group , also for accommodation facilities located in cities that make up for the lack of natural environments by creating new open-air spaces, such as terraces or gardens, and offering its guests experiences to live in the open air.

“The role of a fair like Hospitality, in this context, is to intercept global trends to support operators in doing business – explained Alessandra Albarelli, General Manager of Riva del Garda Fierecongressi . – The 360-degree attention to people's well-being, sustainability and respect for the environment are phenomena that have repercussions on the tourism and hospitality industry. We select products and services to showcase during the event to help hospitality and restaurant operators diversify their offer and compete”.

Flexible, sustainable and safe: thanks to its intrinsic characteristics, the open air sector has been able to earn and win the trust of Italians in recent years. Thanks also to the ability to evolve, intercepting the needs and requests of the new reference targets.

"Certainly the pandemic has brought people closer to a more aware and proximity concept of tourism, but on the other hand the segment has been able to transform itself, to offer quality services and every type of comfort - recalled Carlo Berizzi, professor of Architectural Composition and urban at the University of Pavia . - For this reason, for five years the AUDe laboratory of the University of Pavia has been developing a series of researches to improve maxi-caravans to support the outdoor holiday sector in its evolution process”.

The inauguration and ribbon cutting were also attended by Silvia Betta, Deputy Mayor of the Municipality of Riva del Garda , and Roberto Failoni, Councilor for Crafts, Commerce, Promotion, Sport and Tourism of the Autonomous Province of Trento.

Also this year, operators will be able to organize their visit to the fair with the Hospitality Digital Space app , a virtual platform for managing appointments, networking, viewing the product and exhibitor catalog and consulting the complete schedule of events.

Organized by Riva del Garda Fierecongressi, Hospitality is the leading international fair in Italy dedicated to Ho.Re.Ca. operators. With an exhibition area of over 40,000 square meters, the event is the most complete in Italy, with a vast training program and a wide range of companies and professionals in the Contract&Wellness, Renovation&Tech, Food&Equipment and Beverage areas and in the special Solobirra, Riva Pianeta Mixology and Winescape areas.

The 47th edition takes place in Riva del Garda, from 6 to 9 February 2023.