Hi Giulia, hi Rodolfo, we last saw each other in February 2020. Then we lived months that were, to say the least, complex, full of uncertainties, of changes, of digital acceleration and now a period of great hopes. How can we describe the scenario we are facing today?
That is so very true! The 12th edition of BTO, with the Onlife theme, hinted at the unpredictability of some events and the essential intertwining between real and virtual (hence the rebranding of BTO from Buy Tourism Online to Be Travel Onlife), between the local and global dimension, to the interconnection among things where it is almost impossible to establish any cause and effect. Of course, none of us would have ever expected what was to happen a few weeks later … that “flapping of wings”, on the other side of the planet, which caused a hurricane that left us hanging onto a still uncertain destiny and one that is continuously evolving.
Today we are certainly faced with a different world (we still don’t know if it is worse or better) in which we savor normality, certainly with new rules, but hopefully with a better ability to adapt to the unexpected and greater flexibility. Fundamental skills and attitudes to deal with innovation both from the point of view of consumption and entertainment, and from the entrepreneurial and business point of view: from changing work models, towards a corporate culture that is more tech, to more functional tools for this passage.
In your working group, what are you dealing with specifically? What are the main themes and objectives of the “DIGITAL STRATEGY & INNOVATION” topic?
This year we are trying to truly sort out the real novelties, what the pandemic has brought us and what will most likely remain, what remains pending while waiting to understand how it will resume in this new context, up to the essentials of the digital strategy so as to be able to offer a travel experience without “onlife” friction. But above all we are trying to make it clear that doing nothing, or “hoping” that little will change, is a losing attitude in the medium and long term.
Can you give us any advance information or tell us any bits of news? What has changed, if it has changed, in preparing a scientific program within this scenario?
This year we have worked as usual in close contact with the scientific committee and have received several spontaneous requests from professionals who want to enrich the schedule. We worked remotely before, so in this sense, not much has changed.
The final task aims at making a synthesis and venturing side by side into this new world, probably not yet without friction, but which certainly brings more awareness.
With regard to the anticipations, from contactless reception and the pending points concerning the subject of privacy, passing through the trends of “workation, bleisure and digital nomads“, what is really moving in this sense, to the cultural “frictions” of the Italian small and medium-sized tourism businesses and some advice on how to overcome them, passing through communication, which has proved to be a crucial issue in generating friction, creating dangerous misunderstandings, inhibiting or encouraging the tourism demand. Regarding advertising, vertical markets are inevitable in the world of Google and social display, concerning marketing automation and proximity, passing through video content in various formats (IG reel, stories …) and concerning the novelty of social voice platforms, these are absolute must-dos. What is the best format for tourism communication?
How will the “Frictionless” theme fit into the Topic devoted to DIGITAL STRATEGY & INNOVATION?
We think that the best way to implement this theme is to start right from the “frictions” to try to understand what does not work or what has not worked. So the approach is always one of bringing common experiences onto the scene, where once the problem has been identified, the obstacle has been overcome in a certain way.
In the digital strategy, the problem of “friction” always lies mainly in the lack of objectives and the lack of a strategy. At the beginning, we will have two hours that should clarify this aspect: how to identify measurable objectives, implement them in the right channels and set up a strategy that looks at data measurement, and how correct data management is a crucial factor.
Why will it be important to attend BTO this year and, in particular, the DIGITAL STRATEGY & INNOVATION day on November 25th? What will the public get out of it to take back home?
An indispensable guide to read the changes in progress and face this “back to business” with that extra oomph. A “warm invitation” not to think about resting on one’s laurels (real or presumed) but to find innovative solutions by mixing the digital and the non-digital issues well.
