BTM Italy 2026 closes with +8% visitors and record B2B meetings

Today, February 27, 2026, BTM Italy 2026, the international tourism fair now in its XII edition, concluded at the Fiera del Levante in Bari. Three days of business, training, institutional dialogue, and innovation have written a new chapter in the history of the event, with an 8% increase in visitors who passed through the gates of the Fiera del Levante compared to 2025, while the B2B matching sessions recorded a record of almost 13,000 appointments in three days.

Organized in collaboration with the Puglia Region and Pugliapromozione, BTM Italy 2026 confirmed its role as a national reference point for the entire tourism supply chain, bringing to Bari nearly 600 exhibitors and over 120 international buyers, involved in fam trip activities already in the days leading up to the official opening.

The 2026 edition opened on Tuesday, February 25, with a high-profile institutional inauguration ceremony. The Minister of Tourism Daniela Santanchè cut the ribbon of the XII edition, highlighting the constant growth of the event and emphasizing the themes of de-seasonalization and diversification of the tourism offer as national priorities. The Minister highlighted the strategic role of the South and Puglia, also mentioning the opportunity represented by the upcoming Mediterranean Games in Taranto as a lever for regional tourism.

Also present at the inauguration were the President of the Puglia Region Antonio Decaro, who framed BTM as a tool for international positioning and enhancement of the internal areas of Puglia, and the Regional Tourism Councillor Graziamaria Starace, who reiterated the centrality of local communities in the region's tourism development model, summarized in the theme of the edition: "re-generate".

The program: training, speeches, and big names

Over 110 moments including conferences, workshops, masterclasses, and talks on the theme "Re-generate" marked the three days, confirming BTM Italy as one of the most intensive training platforms in the national tourism fair landscape.

Among the most attended moments was the master lecture by Stefano Boeri, who offered an original vision of the relationship between architecture, landscape, and regenerative tourism, gathering an extraordinary audience of operators and enthusiasts.

Great success also for the interview with Barbara Carfagna, a face of Rai and an authoritative voice in the debate on technology and society, conducted by Edoardo Colombo. The meeting explored the relationship between artificial intelligence and the tourism industry, with concrete examples, seen live, of how abroad AI has been used to regenerate or create new destinations.

Equally significant was the presence of Ferdinando "Fefè" De Giorgi, the technical commissioner who led the Italian national volleyball team to the heights of the world: his exclusive interview highlighted the power of sport as a driver of storytelling, attraction, and territorial marketing.

Ensuring coherence, authority, and quality to the entire content structure is the valuable contribution of the Scientific Committee of BTM Italy, composed of experts such as Beppe Giaccardi, Martha Friel, Rodolfo Baggio, Giulia Eremita, Edoardo Colombo, and Michele Bruno. Many professionals for a common goal: to define strategic themes and identify emerging trends through a deep work of guidance, analysis, perspectives, and a constant alignment between theoretical reflection and concrete application.

The beating heart of BTM Italy remains its B2B platform. In 2026, the buyer-seller matching system reached a historic record of appointments:

●             BTM Trade connected tour operators, travel agencies, and air and sea carriers with the Puglia destination and the national exhibiting realities: tour operators, networks, carriers, trains, ferries, technology, and cruises

●             BTM MICE debuted (in collaboration with JLK International) facilitating meetings between venues, destination management companies, and corporate and congress event planners.

●             BTM Wedding has consolidated its leadership as a national reference for wedding tourism, systematizing celebrants, locations, suppliers, and international wedding sector buyers.

Two "vertical" areas confirmed their specific weight in the fair's economy. BTM Area Gusto attracted a cross-sectional audience, professionals, and enthusiasts around Puglia and Italian food and wine as an experiential tourist product. BTM Say Yes, the area dedicated to wedding tourism, further strengthened a community of operators now structured at the national and international level.

The novelties: Nautical, Outdoor, and main exhibitors

The 2026 edition expanded the boundaries of the proposal with two new thematic spaces that immediately attracted interest among operators. BTM Nautica brought Puglia and Mediterranean nautical tourism to the fair, a rapidly expanding segment that looks with increasing interest at marinas, coastal routes, and sailing charters. The Outdoor area, dedicated to active tourism such as glamping, cycling tourism, trekking, and nature-based experiences, completed an offering that increasingly views Puglia as a 360-degree destination, not just a seaside one.

During the event, the national assembly of travel agencies adhering to Aidit - Federturismo was also held with over 600 participating travel agents, both online and in person.

The partnership with ENIT has been renewed and collaboration with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation has also been consolidated with a focus dedicated to Root Tourism.

Among the exhibitors, there was significant growth of the Regions present with Tuscany, Puglia, Basilicata, Molise, Abruzzo, Piedmont, and international destinations with various European tourism boards and international DMCs. Some of the most important airlines and shipping companies were present, including Ita Airways, Qantas, FlyDubai, Turkish, Volotea, Costa, Msc, Snav, and leading tour operators/networks such as Nicolaus Valtur, Glamour, Ares Viaggi, Travel Friends, Blunet, and Gattinoni.

Nevio D'Arpa, CEO & Founder of BTM Italy stated: "We close BTM Italy 2026 with numbers that certify a leap in scale: not only an increase in visitors but also record appointments for buyer-seller in the Trade, MICE, and Wedding clusters. It is a result of the supply chain, built together with institutions, businesses, and professionals who believe that Bari can be a national tourism hub capable of generating business and skills. We wanted an edition that was not just a showcase but a method: authentic training, deep content, and qualified networking. The challenge for 2027 is to raise the bar on the quality of meetings, international presence, and the ability to translate into concrete opportunities for the territories."

Mary Rossi, Event Manager of BTM Italy added: "The success of this edition stems from the care of the schedule: over 110 moments of workshops, masterclasses, and conferences, designed to respond to the real questions of operators. The response from the audience and exhibitors confirms that the direction is the right one. Area Gusto and Wedding have confirmed a community that is now mature and loyal; Nautica and Outdoor have shown that there is a hunger for new languages and new tourism products at the fair. BTM Italy grows when it can intercept market demands and transform them into relationships, experiences, and skills."