VINITALY 2019: CONSTANT INCREASE IN QUALITY AND NUMBER OF BUYERS    53rd EDITION CLOSES WITH 125,000 VISITORS FROM 145 COUNTRIES

At the largest show ever, over the four days 4,600 exhibiting companies (130 more than last year) from 35 countries occupied a net show area of 100,000 sq.m.

Vinitaly and the City attracted almost 80,000 enthusiasts and wine lovers in Verona itself and three historical towns in its province: Bardolino, Valeggio sul Mincio and Soave (combined attendance of 10,000 visitors).

Vinitaly Directory, the online business guide in 9 languages, now lists more than 18,000 labels (+20%). Boom in visits to the portal: more than 1 million page hits in just two weeks.

*Press Release

Verona, 10 April 2019 – The 53^rd Vinitaly closed two days ago in Verona. The event attracted 125,000 visitors in total from 145 countries, in line with the previous edition while at the same time ensuring higher quality and number of accredited international buyers, up this year by +3% for a total attendance of 33,000.

“This was the largest ever Vinitaly with 4,600 companies (130 more than last year) and 100,000 net square metres of exhibition space. Nonetheless, tomorrow we will resume our hard work to achieve even more improvements,” said Maurizio Danese, President of Veronafiere. The focus on selecting visitors to ensure increasingly professional and international attendance continues. This is also highlighted by the number of wine lovers taking part in the Vinitaly and the Cityevent, up by 20,000 for an overall total of 80,000. We received a great deal of positive feedback from exhibitors and this means that the turning point implemented in 2016 is the right direction to take. Following the project in Brazil, we also announced the new ‘Wine To Asia’ promotional platform that will become operative in Shenzhen, China, in 2020. All the more, the guiding role played by the wine system was confirmed by significant institutional attendance, with visits by the Prime Minister, the two Deputy Prime Ministers, the President of the Senate, the Minister of Agricultural and Tourism Policies and, on a European scale, the Commissioner for Agriculture.”

“One of the distinguishing aspects of this edition of Vinitaly was undoubtedly its internationality, with a further increase of 3% for top buyers touring in the show halls,” said Giovanni Mantovani, CEO of Veronafiere. This is thanks not the least to growing investments for incoming activities, with selections and invitations involving 50 target countries and collaboration with the ICE Trade Agency. The top five countries of origin for operators attending Vinitaly saw number one spot go to the United States (+2% compared to 2018), followed by Germany (+4%), United Kingdom (+9%), China (+3%) and Canada (+18%). In this context, Japan also performed well (+11%): this result, combined with others achieved as regards the Far East, fully supports our decision to create a new permanent promotion tool dedicated to Asia. Yet this edition of Vinitaly was also increasingly digital and connected, confirming the central role in our global community of the on-line Directory in nine languages embracing more than 4,500 companies and 18,000 wines (up by 20%). It attracted more than 1 million visits over the last two weeks. Nor should be overlook the debut of geolocation in the show halls facilitating bringing supply and demand even closer together.”

The offering at Vinitaly was integrated and expanded, as every year, by the simultaneous scheduling of Sol&Agrifood, Veronafiere’s quality agro-food show, and Enolitech, the event focusing on accessories and technologies for olive oil and wine production.
This year also saw the debut for Vinitaly Design, presenting products and accessories to complement the offering associated with wine promotion and sensory experience: from items used for tasting and service, to furniture for wine cellars, wine stores and restaurants, as well as customised packaging.

The 54^th edition of Vinitaly is scheduled 19-22 April 2020.