Why should you organise your next event in Italy? There are many obvious reasons! The delicious food, the welcoming mentality, the rich history, the endless shopping, the breath-taking nature, numerous UNESCO World Heritage Sites, the excellent destination’s connectivity are just few of the reasons.
But this time, we wanted to give you some more specific reasons. These will not only give you a good reason to organise your event in Italy, but also differentiate Italy from other destinations, and showcase why Italy is the best choice.
First of all, let’s break the common myths about Italy. It’s sad seeing that a lot of the beautiful places in Italy are shadowed by the main stereotypical cities. To fight this stereotype, this is one of the reasons Italian Special Occasions DMC was created. We wanted to showcase all the wonderful and unique regions and to let you experience Italy differently.
Let’s look at the three top reasons why to host your event in Italy. For each reason, we took an example of a destination to illustrate possible events.
Off season – the best reason to host your event in Italy
The team of Italian Special Occasions DMC travels every year to discover more places in Italy. We want to enrich our know-how, check on the quality of the already selected places and to maintain high standards. The latest one we travelled to was Liguria, and we can’t wait and share with you our impressions!
Liguria
Most known for Cinque Terre and Portofino in summer, the region is underestimated for all it has to offer meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions. Thanks to the easy access to Turin, Milan and Pisa, it’s very convenient to reach.
Did you know that the sun is shining all year round thanks to its microclimate? Cinque Terre is a charming destination that stands on the rock, and the event options there are limitless. You can discover the region by foot or by boat and soak its beauty. Nevertheless, let’s not forget all the other cities in Liguria, such as Santa Margherita, Genova or Sanremo, not less beautiful, inspiring and as attractive as Cinque Terre for events!
The best time to organise events there is from March to June and from September to December. Even during winter time the sea is beautiful, blending with the view of the small and lovely villages located close to Cinque Terre.
Looking for a unique venue for big events? The historical Convent on the top of the sea is the ideal location with breath-taking views. The capacity is for up to 400 people, a perfect location for convention or product launch. It’s a very unique venue where your delegates can be hands-on on the meetings, but afterwards can switch off and explore the region, savouring its beautiful landscape and engaging in sensorial team building activities. The place offers the delegates an opportunity to connect and disconnect throughout the congress or conference. When they come back home they feel empowered and energized.
Sensorial experience is not a trend, it’s a life style
The sounds of the sea or crowded market, the smell of fresh espresso in the morning, the taste of freshly grilled fish or homemade pizza, the sights of historical streets or panoramic landscapes and the touch of sandy beaches or a swim in the crystal sea, are some of the experiences to come for to Italy. Italy is a country where each place will offer you a vivid experience because it will stimulate all your senses.
At Italian Special Occasions DMC we integrate sensorial activities into each event we do to enhance your delegates’ experiences. Be it a conference or a team building, we can design activities around the five senses.
Genoa
For this example, we decided to pick Genoa, also a fantastic city, but off the beaten path for corporate events. 6thlargest city and the capital of Liguria, it’s located on the Mediterranean coast of north-west Italy. Its proximity to Milan and Turin is forming part of the ‘Industrial Triangle’ of northern Italy with excellent transport links and frequent flights in and out of the city.
It’s an industrial city that is very proud of its history and local produce, something you’ll experience if you organise events here.
Did you know that Christopher Columbus was originally from Genoa before he set sail to explore the world? To illustrate this piece of history, we’ll take the group on a “gate of the Mediterranean like Christopher Columbus” team building activity on the high seas. It’s very exciting and thrilling for the delegates and they can learn about Genoa’s maritime history. Afterwards, to stimulate their taste buds we’ll head down towards the port, to Via Sottoripa. There, we’ll pop into one of the local friggitoria to try the traditional Genovese speciality of fried seafood caught fresh that morning. Alternatively, we can take the delegates to explore the famous Mercato Orientale. The market is over 100 years old and offers the best in seasonal local produce. After picking the food from the market, we’ll finish the day cooking together, the class guided by a local chef.
Italy, A country that tells its story best
Italy is a country rich in history. Each destination has its story, through its people, places, food, venues, industries and local economies. Best stories pass from generation to generation, and the best destination to demonstrate this is Sicily.
Sicily
Sicily is one of the biggest congress destinations in Italy. It has 3 – 5* hotels, offering 75.517 hotel bed rooms and 127.689 hotel beds, one of the reasons that google chooses to come there each year for their annual event. For your event the opportunities are endless. You can choose between Palermo, Catania, Siracusa, Taormina, Agrigento or the inland, such as Val di Noto, or Enna and Caltanissetta.
But that’s not all. Its beauty lies within its history and the different cultures, because the region was conquered by 13 civilisations! You can see it by the variety of food on the island: couscous, pasta alla norma, pesce spade and the list goes on. Yum!
For a company or a brand, it’s important to connect with locals, try authentic experience and learn about different traditions. This way you’ll share the journey together and your delegates will connect emotionally and take this experience back home.
One of the most popular team building activities we run in Sicily is called Noble Family and the Noble Wine. Wine making has strong link to the local territory. This business passed from generation to generation and the stories are best told by the locals. We will take the participants to see some amazing venues and meet with the locals, to hear about thier passion for wine and what kept them pursuing this profession. We will conclude the tour with a wine tasting and dinner in one of the lovely properties. For the more adventurous among you and if it’s the right season, we can also organise a team building activity doing the wine harvest or working the land with the locals.
Italian Special Occasions DMC can help
In this post we picked only three destinations to demonstrate what makes Italy stand out for events: off season events, sensorial experiences and storytelling. But there are many more we will be glad to tell you more about. As a destination management company, we will help you design the best programme for you, carefully choosing the best season and region combination, where your company values will come across and leave a strong impression on your delegates. Through these three elements, we want to activate your brand’s values and translate them into actions. Travel changes the way we see the world, and events activate emotions, bring people together, educate and connect the delegates with your brand. Let us help you.
