The BTE Non-Hotel Tourism Exchange 2024, held in Palermo (Sicily) from 8th to 14th November puts the spotlight on non-hotel tourism innovation and growth.
Featuring alternative accommodation solutions
The 8th edition of the B2B Non-Hotel Tourism Exchange highlights a wide range of accommodations beyond traditional hotels such as vacation rentals, B&Bs and guesthouses, and it is attracting many interested international buyers. The post-event fam trip for international buyers, organized by Confesercenti Sicilia with the support of ItaliAbsolutely by Travel Quotidiano started on 8th and will end on 14th November.
Authentic travel experiences
ItaliAbsolutely asked Salvo Basile, Confeserceti Sicilia’s regional coordinator for tourism, what he expects from the event. “This Exchange was created to ensure a projection of the region's tourism offer, especially on international markets. It is linked to authentic travel experiences that connect the tourist with the most authentic parts of our region, and it also safeguards our cultural identity and the style for which we are known the world over thanks to our unique assets, artistic heritage and natural beauty.”
The non-hotel sector now counts 7,000 units
With the number of hotel facilities soaring by almost 300% in recent years, from some 2,500 units to 7,000, the non-hotel sector is able to now guarantee about 120,000 units against the 350,000 available throughout the Sicilian region. “These figures are also confirmed by the increase in arrivals over 2023. We are taking about some 1,500,000 more arrivals.”
“The aim now is relational tourism”
Today the choice of complementary forms of accommodation is no longer linked, as it once was, to saving on holiday expenses added Basile. “Now the aim is what we call community tourism or relational tourism, which means tapping into the culture of a location, and it allows us to safeguard the cultural identity that is characteristic of our region. Visitors choosing non-hotel solutions are increasingly attentive to the theme of sustainability, and the protection of the social and cultural dynamics that are a strategic asset we must be able to enhance and promote to the best of our ability.”
Promoting Sicily’s inland areas
The main markets for non-hotel accommodation in Sicily are European, but a growing number of visitors are also arriving from also other parts of the world, many attracted by heritage tourism, and Sicily is seeing a major leap in the number of north American visitors. “This is thanks to the work we are doing, and to collaborations and synergies with the Regional government, enhancing not only the so-called mature tourist circuits, but also our inland areas which have so much potential."
Ligia Hofnar, marketing manager ItaliAbsolutely, Alessandro Anello, Councillor for Tourism of Palermo and Maria Francesca Martinez Tagliavia, Director of Palermo's Gallery of Modern Art
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