CONFTURISMO, DIGITAL MAGICS AND THE UVET GROUP Â LAUNCH THE TRIPITALY.IT PROJECT FOR TOURISM
A digital ‘hub’ is opened to promote and support Italian firms operating in the incoming tourism sector, and created with the contribution of the sector’s innovative Italian startups
Milano, 20 May 2014 – The Italian Conference on Tourism which took place this morning in Rome was attended by Carlo Sangalli, the President of Confcommercio (General Federation of Italian Commerce, Tourism, Services and Small and Medium-sized Enterprises), Francesca Barracciu, Under Secretary at the Ministry of Cultural Heritage, Activities and Tourism and Piero Galli, Director General of Event Expo 2015. During the conference they heard an announcement from Digital Magics, Certified Incubator of innovative startups listed on the Italy’s AIM stock market (symbol DM), the Uvet Group, the leading distributor in Italy since 1950 for the supply of services and solutions in leisure trips, business travel, MICE (Meetings, Incentive, Congresses and Events) and pharmaceuticals and Confturismo, the organisation of reference of Confcommercio-Business for Italy for the tourism sector, concerning an agreement to develop the Tripitaly.it project, the first open portal for incoming foreign tourism in Italy.
This innovate platform will gather together information, services and different offers in one single hub, offering tourists arriving from abroad a single point of reference and that will allow tourists a quick and simple way of planning and purchasing their customised and made-to-measure holiday package. The website will be backed up by a mobile application that will accompany foreign tourists during their stay in Italy.
Tripitaly.it represents a new opportunity for all those small and medium-sized enterprises that are members of Confturismo – the General Federation of Italian Tourism (i.e. hotels, public establishments, travel agencies, tour operators, incentive services, camping sites, villages and tourist residences and hotels, bed & breakfasts, hostels, bathing establishments, nightclubs, holiday marinas, etc…) to expand and sustain their businesses thanks to innovative digital technology and will provide an effective and efficient technological platform for promoting themselves and improving their own relationships with their customers as well as their levels of satisfaction.
The Tripitaly.it platform, ​​created by Digital Magics with the support of the best innovative startups dedicated to Italian tourism - which offer value-added and additional services – will suggest, on a day-to-day and step-by-step basis, cultural activities and attractions to tourists that are well worth a visit. It will automatically recommend, for every city: the nearby towns or places that are worth seeing; pointing out the distances, the routes and the tours; the best restaurants; the museums to visit, offering the possibility of booking; wine and food specialities; local events – as well as offering the possibiity of booking airline, rail or coach tickets and additional services such as car rental with driver or bicycles for the more athletic – to provide a unique vacation experience.
Luca Patanè, Chairman of both Confturismo and UVET said: “I believe very much in the support that technology provides in promoting the development and innovation of our sector which can, more than in any other and thanks to the Internet, seize new business opportunities and a range of services offering high added value to its customers. Consumers have demonstrated how much they value the Internet, in particular for the opportunities it offers them to organise their own trips independently. The digital age does not represent a threat to our industry, but rather a really interesting and potential source of new income for all Confcommercio member businesses. The advantage of Tripitaly.it is precisely that of bringing everything that Italian tourism has to offer into one single access point and enhancing it from every aspect. Tripitaly.it will be fully operational and and up and running in time to coincide with Expo 2015, which I think will be the best opportunity for Confturismo and its members to grow.”
Enrico Gasperini, Founder and Chairman of Digital Magics said: “We believe that when it comes to digital technology, enough has still not been done in the area of what the Italian tourism sector has to offer the foreign market. It is also a question of our country’s competitiveness when compared to the rest of Europe, and countries such as Spain or France, which are much further ahead when it comes to the Internet and e-commerce. The Tripitaly.it platform will be developed taking into account the technological project called E015, that was created to offer a powerful boost in terms of innovation and openness to all those interested in Expo 2015, which represents a one-off opportunity for all small and medium-sized Italian enterprises operating in the tourism sector. “
Confturismo – www.confturismo.it
On June 6 CONFTURISMO created new Articles of Association for itself and a new operational setup for the total relaunch of its work. The renovated CONFTURISMO – a unified grouping of national organisations representing businesses and professions in tourism that are members of Confcommercio – is the organisational structure for coordinating the tourism sector promoted by the Confederation. The synergies with the Confcommercio system – at both national and regional levels, through the regional agencies of CONFTURISMO – the strategic importance of which is reaffirmed – are enhanced. This setup, combined with the strengthened management role entrusted to the founding Federations – FAITA-Federcamping (Federation of Italian Open-Air Tourist Establishment Associations), FEDERALBERGHI (Federation of Italian Hotels and Tourism Associations), FIAVET (Italian Federation of Travel and Tourism Businesses), FIPE (Italian Federation of Public Establishments), Rescasa (Italian Federation of Apartment and Residential Holiday Establishments), ANBBA (National Association of B&Bs & Rented Room Establishments) and Federviaggio (Federation of Organised Tourism) – provides CONFTURISMO with even more expert tools for pursuing the goals that have been assigned to it. These include the promotion and safeguarding of the sector’s interests as well as the enhancement of its image. What is more CONFTURISMO, in confirming itself as an organisation at a confederation level that is more widely representative of the sector, offers itself as a privileged interlocutor with the institutions for the study and development of new policies for the development of tourism in Italy.
Uvet Group – www.uvet.com
The Uvet Group is a distribution outlet for tourism with a turnover of €2.2 billion that has been operating in Italy since 1950. The group is made up of the following companies:
- Uvet American Express. Specialising in offering services and solutions for the business traveller and the organisation of incentives, meetings and events. In 2012 the company generated a turnover of €375 million.
- Uvet ITN Travel Network. A network of 1,300 travel agencies with partners in all areas of the country.
- Uvet Travel and Tourism. The Group’s first company founded in 1950 and operating in the consumer sector.
- Uvet Romania. Operating in the market of Eastern Europe for outsourcing of travel services.
- Congress Lab. Offering solutions for training events and conferences in the field of medicine, science and pharmaceuticals.
- Avexia Voyages. French subsidiary operating in the business travel sector for SMEs. In 2012 the company generated a turnover of €100 million.
- TNS. System integrator with specific expertise in interactive travel solutions and a preferred partner of the group.Â
- TraxAll. Specialising in cost management, it provides virtualisation of business processes through IT systems that are accessible via cloud computing.
- Tkt. With offices in Milan and Treviso and specialising in corporate fleet management it also represents the European network of EuroFleeting in Italy.
- Flygpoolen, One of Sweden’s leading online travel agencies with a turnover of €100 million through its sale of airline tickets.
Digital Magics – www.digitalmagics.com
Digital Magics is a Certified venture Incubator of innovative digital startups that offer content and services with a high technological value. Digital Magics is listed on the Italian AIM stock market, the Alternative Capital Market dedicated to small and medium-sized Italian companies with high growth potential, organised and managed by the Italian Stock Exchange. Digital Magics builds and develops internet startups, working alongside the founders, investing equity and providing acceleration services. It begins with the talents and the ideas, transforming them into disruptive businesses that are successful in the Italian and international digital economy. The incubator promotes a culture of entrepreneurship and risk, contributing to economic growth and employment for young people. Digital Magics offers services in support of innovation, the creation and development of digital startups, and it supports the search for new private and public investors, be they Italian or international, to fund the next stages of development.
For more information see:
Uvet Group – Director of Marketing & Communications
Mario Mazzei – E-mail: mario.mazzei @ uvetamex.com | marketing@uvetamex.com
Tel. +39Â 02 81838212
Sec Public and Institutional Relations – Uvet Group Press Office
Angelo Vitale – E-mail: vitale@secrp.it – Mobile +39 338 6907474
Luigi Santo – E-mail: santo@secrp.it– Mobile +39 349 4426014
Lorenzo Mazzoni – E-mail: mazzoni@secrp.it – Mobile +39 349 8450008
Digital Magics – Press Office
Giorgio Bocchieri – E-mail: giorgio.bocchieri @ digitalmagics.com
Phone 02 52505202 – Mobile +39 334 6853078
IR Top – Financial and Corporate Communications for Institutional Digital Magics
Floriana Vitale – E-mail: f.vitale @ irtop.com
Dominic Gentile – E-mail: d.gentile @ irtop.com
Phone +39Â 02 45473884
