Through our Cookie Center, users have the ability to select individual categories of cookies used on the websites. For more information about the cookies used, please see our COOKIE POLICY.

Travel Innovation
Objectives of the Observatory
The Travel Innovation Observatory was established in 2014 to study and understand the evolution of one of the most significant economic sectors in Italy: Tourism. Also operative is the Business Travel Observatory established in 2019 in partnership with the University of Bologna.
The goal is to guide Italian companies, institutions, and tourist destinations (in Italy and abroad) in understanding industry dynamics in terms of demand and to support them in identifying innovation opportunities.
The Observatory Community consist of several thousand companies across all areas of Italy.
Innovation in Tourism Observatory Research
Within the Annual Edition, the Travel Innovation Observatory conducts the following Research activities:
- demand analysis to identify the changes impacting on the tourist journey, looking into emerging trends regarding open air tourism, food and wine tourism, mobility at destination, payment instruments, and never-ending tourism;
- estimate the value of the eCommerce and Tourism market in Italy, investigating the sectors in depth including accommodation, mobility towards and at destination, open air, and experiential tourism;
- estimate the value of the business travel market in Italy, by analyzing booked services, destinations, purpose, and booking tools;
- monitor the innovation frontier of the supply system at international level, analyzing digital and data-driven innovation, new business models, and sustainability strategies for supply chain players and for destination management.
Innovation in Tourism Observatory Research is based on empirical analysis that through surveys, case studies, and interviews, reaches tens of thousands of hotel and non-hotel accommodations and travel agents each year, along with hundreds of Italian and international technology providers, startups, corporate travel managers, and destination management organizations. Primary source research is paired with constant monitoring of academic and professional secondary sources.
Activities
For the edition of the Travel Innovation Observatory, the following events are planned:
-
A Kickoff Workshop for Observatory supporters, with the goal of introducing the community and officially launching the edition.
-
Four Workshops for supporters, dedicated to sharing and validating research results and successful experiences. One will focus on innovative startups, one on business travel, and two will preview preliminary research findings.
-
Smart Destination Day (Nana Bianca Auditorium of Florence): an event for tourism destinations only, focusing on destination management and the strategic use of data and technology for sustainable tourism management, focused on artificial intelligence and state-of-the-art solutions to address challenges brought by unbalanced tourism.
-
Two public events: the TTG Travel ExperienceConference (Rimini Tourism Fair) and Travel Innovation Day at Politecnico of Milan.
Become a supporter of the Innovation in Tourism Observatory
The Innovation in Tourism Observatory is supported by several sector partner and sponsor companies. Take part in the Research, access Observatory exclusive data before anyone else, network with companies and qualified experts and gain visibility in our events.
For more information please contact Federica Russo at federica.russo@polimi.it
Work Group
Request information
We are at your service