More foreign buyers among Vinitaly's visitors

Venice - The 51st edition of Vinitaly, taking place at Fiera di Verona, recorded 128,000 visitors from 142 countries in 4 days. The Fiera, the organiser of the event, reported there have been more accredited foreign top buyers compared to last year, namely 30,200 (+8 percent against 2016), with a total of more than 48,000 foreign visitors.

"Vinitaly 2017 represents the first concrete step forward in the new development course aimed at the next 50 years. The results show there is a clear-cut line between business events at the fair and moments for wine lovers organised outside the fair in the city. The aim is to continue along this path due to the new tools available, with Veronafiere becoming a joint-stock company, and thanks to the 100 million dollar industrial plan, with investments in winemaking and the digital transformation," said Maurizio Danese, President of Veronafiere.

"The figures from this edition are evidence that the international B2B formula adopted for Vinitaly is growing and buyers are the most qualified, coming from all over the world. It is enough to look at the top 10 list of foreign buyers, which has been increasing year after year: United States (+6 percent), Germany (+3 percent), United Kingdom (+4 percent ), China (+12 percent), France and Canada (stable), Russia (+42 percent), Japan (+2 percent), Northern European countries (+2 percent), and The Netherlands and Belgium (+6 percent). The good performance of Brazil (+29 percent) adds to the above list, not to mention Vinitaly's debut in Panama and Senegal. Italy has shown a consolidation of the number of visitors from all regions," said Giovanni Mantovani, director general of Veronafiere.

The fair accounts for 4270 exhibitors from 30 countries ( +4 percent compared to 2016, with foreign ones rising by 74 percent). This confirms the event as being the major international show for wines and spirits. During the four day fair, alongside B2B meetings, there were almost 400 conferences, seminars, and training sessions on wine. As usual, the lion's share of the event was devoted to wine-tasting, with over 250 tastings scheduled directly by Vinitaly and the regional consortia. Among the scheduled events was also an exclusive session to celebrate 50 years of Sassicaia.