Three points of view, based on the deep expertise of the sectors of the three events, for a single strategic vision on the challenges that will await as many closely interconnected sectors, such as Food & Beverage, Hospitality and Travel. Observed from two privileged points, two real hubs for global markets like Dubai and Miami.
This is the philosophy that guided the first two webinars jointly organized by BIT - International Travel Exhibition, HostMilano and TUTTOFOOD. The most current trends and opportunities on international markets for the Gulf countries were the topic of the meeting in Dubai on 27 July, with Giacomo Bernardelli, CEO, Casinetto LLC, Haresh Daryanani, Business Development Manager, Al Maya Group, Chef Uwe Micheel - President, Emirates Culinary Guild, Ali Serhal - Commercial Director, Fresh Express and Marcello Antonioni - Managing Partner, StudiaBo srl-ExportPlanning.com
From healthy food, to sustainability and zero waste, the appearance of new generations such as the Millennials and Gen Z, the new social media and their impact on food (not only good, but beautiful to photograph): entrepreneurs, chefs and economists have been called to answer.
In the meeting, forecasts emerged that, with 2023 in mind, the trade between the Middle East and Europe will increase up to 8.5 billion euro in F&B and 3 billion euro in Hospitality. How about trends? The speakers agreed that the post-lockdown phase is characterised by the recovery of the digital and physical channel in parallel, from a phygital point of view: undoubtedly the "key winners" are e-commerce and large-scale retailers, with a particular focus on ready meals. The changes affecting food service in the hotel business - traditionally strong in the Gulf countries - with younger customers attentive above all to the quality/price ratio are very interesting.

Change of continent and change of perspective for the meeting in Miami on 29 July, which focused on the evolution of luxury. The panel, composed by Rainer Zinngrebe, Vice President Culinary, Luxury Brands, Marriott International, Franco Semeraro, Senior VP, Hotel Operations - Oceania Cruises/Regent Seven Seas, Fabio Trabocchi, Star Chef of Fiola and Tommaso Cardana, President of Tomson Hospitality (Miami), agrees: the future of these niches lies increasingly in personalisation and the ability to create a unique experience and a true relationship with "the guest": in tomorrow's luxury the word customer, synonymous with transaction, will be banned in favour of guest - even at the restaurant - as a metaphor for a more human and direct relationship. This is an important turning point because operators are able to develop top-of-the-range proposals without major investments, to the point that we are now talking about "entry level luxury". At the opposite extreme, the "beyond luxury": the search for an incomparable authenticity and uniqueness for those who, economically, can already buy everything. This scenario is permeated by the growing awareness of sustainability by guests, which is leading several luxury realities to become champions of circular economy in cooperation with quality suppliers.