BTM 2021: from May 19 to 21 in Taranto

Change of date and location for BTM Puglia, one of the main events in southern Italy for tourism operators, now in its seventh edition. It will be held from May 19 to 21, 2021 in Taranto.

The seventh edition of BTM Puglia will be held from May 19 to 21, 2021, in Taranto. It is one of the main events in southern Italy for tourism operators.

Location

Many innovations in this new edition, starting with the location: the event moves from Lecce to Taranto and will be held across three different facilities to better manage the crowd, in compliance with distancing regulations: this includes the Orfeo Theater, where the main hall for debates and training content will be set up, and the Taranto Official and Non-Commissioned Officers Clubs, which will host the exhibition area, thematic zones, and meetings between buyers and sellers.

Training

The highlight of the event is certainly the program of conferences and training sessions, which, for the second consecutive year, is prepared by a scientific committee composed of experienced tourism professionals and faculty members. The theme for this year is New Vision, which will serve as the guiding thread for the discussion sessions of BTM 2021, a topic that aims to highlight ways to rethink future tourism based on sustainability, marking a real shift from greedy and egoistic tourism to one that becomes more respectful of the Planet and Humanity.

Social Media Tourism

BTM 2021 will also feature two side events: Social Media Tourism, a training event on social media marketing for tourism, which will focus on the theme of “destination on the move”. In such a challenging 2020, the tourism market also faced the difficulty of operators and destinations to maintain their appeal to a “tourist who isn’t there”. This underscores the need to continue the narrative by making the destination travel through stories of best practices and projects that will open the doors to a renewed tourism season, and a new role for territories.

BTM OFF – Hospitality Future Training

The second event is “BTM OFF – Hospitality Future Training”, curated by digital agency Titanka!, which will explore topics related to web marketing for hospitality structures, from data analysis to website optimization, from Google campaigns to revenue management.

BTM among the Lines

The program will feature the “BTM among the Lines” format, with author presentations of books and manuals on tourism aimed at operators who want to enhance their skills in Hospitality, Digital Marketing, and Innovation. This highly appreciated program in 2019 will also be expanded to include presentations of travel guides and stories.

Thematic Areas: Taste and Love

Two main thematic areas into which the event is divided:

• With BTM Taste, producers and operators of agri-food tourism will share stories through food, emotion, and culture of the territories to answer the question: “What does happiness taste like?”
• With BTM in Love, essential in a region like Puglia, ranked as Italy’s second wedding destination after Tuscany, training activities and B2B meetings will be scheduled between international sellers and buyers, wedding planners, and bloggers attracted by the offerings of the Puglia territory.

Who is BTM Puglia

Finally, BTM 2021 aims to also serve as a magnet for incoming tourism in Puglia and will offer opportunities for foreign operators and industry journalists to discover some hidden corners of this region firsthand. BTM Puglia is organized by the event agency 365 Giorni in Puglia srls, which has been proposing a model of tourism based on professionalism, digital training, innovation, and hospitality for 6 years. Today, BTM Puglia is widely recognized as an international event: in 2020, it hosted 16,000 visitors, 175 exhibitors, 80 international buyers, and 155 expert speakers over three days.