The development of the meetings industry in the metropolitan city of Florence

Promote the development of the meetings industry in Florence is the purpose of the meeting place between the associations representing the tourism sector and the Florence Convention Bureau; a meeting that led to the establishment of a steering committee for the development of congress tourism, business and meeting industry, l’industria degli eventi, in the metropolitan city of Florence.

The contents of the White Paper Industry Conference, recently promoted from Federcongressi and presented to the Congress Tourism Exchange in Florence last November, showed beyond doubt the potential of this sector for the revival of our economy, dimostrando come la meeting industry si sia ormai posizionata come uno dei fattori chiave per lo sviluppo del turismo e un importante generatore di reddito, invest and work.

Simultaneously, the representative associations of the tourism industry have taken note of the role of the Florence Convention Bureau, with the output of the Province of Florence from the shareholding in 2014, has become a society overwhelmingly private, configurandosi quindi come una vera e propria public company espressione del sistema imprenditoriale fiorentino, able to perform a function of public interest.

The Florence Convention Bureau, Operating from 1995, has become in recent years one of the most respected nationwide, as evidenced by the recent appointment of the director Carlotta Ferrari Chairman of the Convention Bureau Italy and the role of leader of Sharing Tuscany, the group of companies which will complement Tuscany Promotion strategies promo-marketing of tourism products in view of Expo 2105.

In funzione di tutto ciò le associazioni di categoria Federalberghi, Confesercenti and Confindustria are interested in supporting the action of the Convention Bureau contributing to its definition of goals and strategies and with the same have decided to create a committee to address the promotion and development of the meetings industry in the territory of the metropolitan city of Florence.

The committee appointed at the meeting was chaired by the President of Federalberghi Francesco Bechi, that says so: "The Congress is a strategic sector for the growth of the turnover of the tourism sector in Florence, as well as ensuring a large and growing number of admissions is a lever to attract visitors then intended to return with their families in tow and then feed the leisure. Also it is important for the possibility of spreading the flows of visitors, and it is in this sense that it is essential also schedule events during periods of low flow, when most tourist facilities can benefit. As associations had long been hoping that a control room for the meetings industry and we believe that the birth of a Steering Committee to help make concrete team, to support the development of the sector, to support the action of the convention bureau in the acquisition of events ".

Michael Lattanzi

By the number 51 - Year II 11/02/2015