Culture and art-city tourism account for 56.8% of spending by foreign visitors on holiday in Italy, while demand is increasingly focused on the context surrounding destinations.
BIT – Borsa Internazionale del Turismo, organised by Fiera Milano, will take place from 9 to 11 February 2027. The event has focused for more than 40 years on developments in the tourism market and will use the Culture, Heritage & UNESCO cluster to address changes in cultural travel demand.
“With Why | Travel by Motivation, we are putting the reason for travelling centre stage – what truly shapes people’s choices,” explains Emanuele Guido, Head of Home, Fashion and Leisure Exhibitions at Fiera Milano. “Culture is both the oldest and, at the same time, the most contemporary travel motivation, because it responds to a need for meaning that no technology can replace. Giving it its own cluster means offering the market a practical framework for understanding these developments, as well as new opportunities for connecting supply and demand, reaffirming Bit’s role as a privileged observatory on the transformation of tourism.”
The Culture, Heritage & UNESCO cluster will also involve international buyers with a specific interest in cultural tourism. Buyers will participate in in-depth sessions dedicated to the cluster and in the speed-meeting programme, where they will engage with tourism industry operators and address supply and demand through networking, collaboration and business development opportunities.
According to analysis by CST – Centro Studi Turistici di Firenze for Confesercenti, based on Banca d’Italia data, cultural and art-city tourism generates €21.6 billion and accounts for 56.8% of total foreign spending on holidays. Spending on “other services”, including guided tours, excursions, museums and personalised experiences, has increased by 15.7%.
According to ISNART – Istituto Nazionale Ricerche Turistiche, in its survey for Unioncamere and ENIT, culture has remained the leading motivation for foreign visitors to Italy for the fourth consecutive year, cited by 45% of travellers.
The 22nd Federculture Annual Report found that the 1,024 municipalities with a cultural and landscape focus, representing 13% of all municipalities nationwide, account for 63% of tourist stays across Italy.
International demand for Italy is largely driven by repeat visitors. At the same time, the concept of heritage is expanding to include local know-how, traditional trades and everyday life in destinations, including olive-oil mills, artisan workshops, dairies and local markets rooted in their communities.
According to the ETC – European Travel Commission, the share of travellers who prefer to visit several cities within a single destination has increased by five percentage points to 42%. The share of travellers choosing slow travel has risen from 22% to 26% in one year.
The geography of cultural travel is also changing. The concentration of visitor flows remains an issue for the tourism sector, with operators addressing destination planning through off-season travel, lesser-known destinations and rural areas, as well as smaller groups engaging with local communities.
“In my experience, the classic tour is fading away; people are looking for different experiences and places that are not so well known,” said Claudio Salej, owner of Destinos Ideales, Argentina. He also pointed to the potential of roots tourism.
Young People and Gen Z: A Generation Asking Why
Technology is also changing the travel research phase. ISNART reports that around 20% of foreign tourists have used artificial intelligence to organise their holiday in Italy.
Research by Mortar for Marriott Bonvoy, conducted among more than 22,000 adults across 11 EMEA markets, found that 50% of travellers have used artificial intelligence to plan their trip or research their destination.
“AI can be more of a friend than an obstacle. It helps us build itineraries and prepare quotations, while at the same time it can persuade those who want to put together their own group tour,” said Luiz Fernando Chimanovitch, General Manager of Educational World Tours, Canada.
Folashade Otuyelu, Founder and Luxury Culinary Travel Advisor at Boundless Travel, United States, said: “social media drives an enormous amount of discovery. For better or worse, AI is now part of that mix. But none of these factors, on their own, books the trip. You still need a person who can understand which of those ideas is actually worth the journey, how much it will really cost in time and energy, and who to call. That is the biggest job today: filtering out the noise.”
Generational change is another development identified in the data. ETC records a 21% increase in travel intentions among 18–24-year-olds for spring–summer 2026, the highest increase across all age groups.
The 11th Travel & Sustainability Report by Booking.com, based on 32,500 travellers across 35 markets, found that 31% of Gen Z had taken part in an activity focused on local cultures and communities during the previous year, compared with 18% of Boomers.
Travel inspiration is also increasingly linked to screen content. According to Expedia, 81% of Gen Z and Millennials plan trips based on something they have seen on screen.
Cost remains a factor in travel planning. ETC identifies economic constraints as the main barrier to travelling in Europe among 18–34-year-olds in particular. The data is linked to demand for cultural travel offerings that are flexible and modular with clear and transparent pricing.
Culture, Heritage & UNESCO: Bringing Supply and Demand Together
The Culture, Heritage & UNESCO cluster at BIT 2027 will bring together DMCs – cultural Destination Management Companies, specialist guides, hotels in art cities, heritage venues and organisations connected with cultural heritage.
The cluster will also involve an international community of profiled buyers, including cultural tour operators, educational travel specialists, premium FIT – Fully Independent Travellers, and travel agencies developing heritage-based itineraries.
Matching between buyers and suppliers will take place through a digital appointments diary and a programme of themed speedy meetings.
The value of heritage will also be addressed at the Travel Makers Fest, BIT’s tourism festival inspired by major festivals dedicated to contemporary thought. The 2027 edition will focus on the theme The Power of Trust.
The event will examine trust in an increasingly fragmented market, while cultural heritage will form part of the discussion around the relationship between destinations and visitors and the criteria used by international buyers when assessing tourism supply and demand.
