FLORENCE, ITALY – Few days from its sixth edition, BTO – Buy Tourism Online reveals its 2013 program me to the public. Online, or rather, on the event’s official website, www.buytourismonline.com, is a detailed line up of the international event dedicated to the world of Travel 2.0, which lands at the Fortezza da Basso in Florence this upcoming 3 and 4 December. A good 95 events will take place over the two days promoted by the Regional Government of Tuscany, Toscana Promozione and the Florence Chamber of Commerce, organised by the Fondazione Sistema Toscana and Metropoli – Azienda Speciale della Camera di Commercio di Firenze. The scientific and artistic direction is managed by BTO Educational.
New to 2013 is the Visions Hall where 8 events will be held. From here, topics will be introduced before going on to be discussed in greater depth in the other Fortress Halls. In fact, 8 big internationals will pose eight topics here and will be interviewed by experts and professors. Expected in Florence are: Phillip Wolf, founder of PhoCusWright, the biggest global research body on tourism online, who will speak about the future scenarios of the Travel Industry; Social Reputation will, instead, be the topic at the centre of the presentation by Daniel Edward Craig, founder of Reknow, a company that deals with social media strategy, online marketing and reputation management for the hotel industry all over the world; Neal Gorenflo, cofounder of Shareable Magazine, will devote his address to the Sharing Economy; Heither Leisman, Europe Managing Director of Hotel Tonight, will address the theme of mobile when applied to world travel: what is the trend? The estimates of growth?
Also at Fortezza da Basso is the founder of Eataly, Oscar Farinetti, who wanted to provocatively call his panel discussion “Suffering from courage is the most beautiful of diseases” in perfect harmony with the BTO – Buy Tourism Online 2013 motto: “IT is YOU”, the person at the centre of everything, every single hotelier/restaurateur who contributes with their professionalism and maintains the competitiveness of Destination Italy.
Among the guests at BTO is master technologist Gigi Tagliapietra. With him, the theme of music as a driver for marketing a territory returns to BTO – Buy Tourism Online. Think of music as “the gadget” to sell a destination, it’s a simplistic approach that doesn’t put us at a competitive advantage with other countries or territories.
Richard Wiegmann, CEO of Trust International, will speak about the trend of Hospitality Distribution, while the big news of BTO 2013 will be our in-depth discussion of the hot topic of airlines. Between low cost airlines and those who propose comfort, is there space in the market for all those in the middle? Fabio Lazzerini, former Managing Director of Amadeus Italia and now Country Manager for Emirates Airlines will be trying to answer this question.
In addition to the Visions Halls, the Fortezza da Basso will host the Scientific Halls where the topics presented by the big 8 will be discussed in greater depth. In the rooms nicknamed “Toolboxes” – basic and advanced – participants will learn how to effectively use the best tools offered by the web and social networks to promote their company/destination, making it more efficient and attractive. “What are reviews about and how to stimulate their publication” or “Slimming solutions for small budgets” are just two examples of the wide range of “Toolboxes” at BTO 2013. And finally, there will be space for Product Presentations from Exhibitors’ Club Businesses.
As part of a deal with Nuovo Trasporto Viaggiatori S.p.A, anyone who buys their ticket for BTO – Buy Tourism Online 2013 online will receive an email with a link to download their event PASS. Inside the PDF is a voucher for €10 off your Italo Treno ticket. The voucher, to be used between 2-5 December for trips to and from Florence, is valid for Smart, Prima and Club ambiences and applicable on Italo Treno’s Economy and Base offers for the purchase of travel tickets on www.italotreno.it. The voucher’s code is to be inserted at the time purchase by selecting the “Scopri Italo/Voucher Promo” payment method. This agreement is valid until 2 December.
BTO – Buy Tourism Online is as event promoted by the Regional Government of Tuscany, Toscana Promozione and the Florence Chamber of Commerce, organized by the Fondazione Sistema Toscana and Metropoli – Azienda Speciale della Camera di Commercio di Firenze. The scientific programme and creative concept: BTO Educational. www.intoscana.it, Tuscany’s official website is media partner.