More than 25,000 international visitors are expected at the first edition of Art & Tourism, the art and cultural tourism fair making its debut in Florence from May 18-20, 2012.

Art & Tourism will be the ideal showcase for destinations to display and promote all their cultural heritage, and so encourage an increase in tourist flows from all over the world to their destinations.

Exhibitions, shows, conventions, open spaces dedicated to the main tourist and cultural attractions, are all planned within the Art & Tourism fair.

In addition to meetings with the general public, there will be the first workshop lasting a day-and-a-half, devoted to bringing together the operators offering Italian culture and 400 international tour operators interested in promoting cultural trips in Italy throughout more than 40 countries worldwide.

INTERNATIONAL DEMAND AT ART & TOURISM: ALREADY MORE THAN 300 PRE-REGISTERED BUYERS

Art & Tourism is getting ready to become the biggest trade exchange of cultural tourism in the world. With four months to go until the opening of the fair, the objective of bringing to Florence 400 highly-professional international buyers interested in purchasing the cultural and artistic offer on show in the Tuscan city from May 18-20, has almost been reached. 321 international tour operators have pre-registered. They are carefully selected, and come from the most important markets for incoming traffic.

A rich program of pre-arranged appointments is planned in order to optimize the bringing together of supply and demand, as well as a series of B2B meetings with the leading decision-makers in the sector at the international level.

“THE ART NEWSPAPER” MEDIA PARTNER OF ART & TOURISM

“The Art Newspaper,” one of the most authoritative publications in the world of art, is a media partner of Art & Tourism. This partnership guarantees extensive visibility for Art & Tourism on the Italian market, as well as at an international level: indeed, the agreement also includes the international title “The Art Newspaper,” which is distributed in North America, the UK, Europe, Australia, South Africa, Canada, and Japan.

“CIVITA” SPONSORS ART & TOURISM

“Civita,” the association which works in Italy to safeguard and nurture the cultural and environmental heritage of the country, is also sponsoring Art & Tourism. This is an important choice, motivated by the reasoning that the fair reflects perfectly the commitment of the association in spirit and in content. “Civita” will not only draw attention to the event in its own communication tools, but will also cooperate in the conception, design, and organization of a convention during Art & Tourism, focused on the theme of cultural consumption.