14.04.2022

(Verona 13 April 2022). The 54th edition of Vinitaly has come to an end, achieving perhaps the finest impact in recent years by this increasingly business-oriented event, with wine lovers welcomed in the Mediaeval city centre as the natural setting for Vinitaly and the City. Vinitaly 2022 set a new record for attendance by international foreign buyers as a percentage to total admissions: 25,000 operators from 139 countries in fact represent 28% of the total number of operators attending the event (88,000). And this was achieved despite the significant contraction - arising from international travel limitations because of the pandemic - in arrivals from China and Japan, in addition of course to Russian buyers. In all, this accounted for around 5,000 fewer arrivals yet did not prevent the reshaping of attendance at an event which, on a national scale, also rebalanced attendance between Central-Southern Italy - which increased - and the North of the country.

The President of Veronafiere, Maurizio Danese, commented: "The role of Italian trade fairs is increasingly linked with growing numbers of companies keen to improve their internationalization, especially SMEs. Vinitaly, this year more than ever, focused considerably on this aspect and achieved very positive results on behalf of a sector morphologically characterized by small businesses. We are already looking to 2023", Danese added, "and an event paying even more attention to market logics and the service and direction function of our trade show to promote a sector that proved to be delighted to find itself back in Verona after 3 years."

The CEO of Veronafiere, Giovanni Mantovani, said: "The Vinitaly we were determined to hold has closed its doors - something we could by no means take for granted. We have provided initial feedback after a lengthy period of listening to and sharing ideas with sector companies. This has given life to a plan that will progressively reach full capacity again within the next two years. Setting the record for the attendance by international buyers in percentage terms in such a difficult year in economic and geopolitical terms is a far from trivial result and highlights Veronafiere's determination in pursuing its objectives."

In terms of international attendance, in the head-to-head "contest" between the United States and Germany, the US came out in front to confirm its leadership in the ranking of nations taking part. The United Kingdom retained third position, while Canada took over fourth place from China and ahead of France. Then came Switzerland, Belgium, Holland, Czech Republic and Denmark. On the whole, attendance from Europe - coming to more than two-thirds of the international total - was good. The performances by France, Switzerland, Belgium and the Netherlands were also excellent, and even posted an increase in operator numbers compared to past editions. In addition, attendance by countries from Northern and Eastern Europe was consolidated, with Finland, Denmark, Czech Republic, Slovenia and Romania in the forefront. Outside Europe, countries such as Singapore, South Korea and Vietnam hold their own; India is growing. Lastly, albeit with small absolute figures, attendance from Oceania fell by half but more than doubled from Africa.