Agri Travel & Slow Travel Expo: a Bergamo dal 14 al 17 febbraio

Agri Travel & Slow Travel Expo: a Bergamo in mostra il turismo lento, rurale e sostenibile

There are now five editions of Agri Travel & Slow Travel Expo. A kermesse that has been able to meet both the public and the operators of the sector. A rich program will be staged from 14th to 17th February: conferences, workshops, show cooking, tastings and entertainment for all. clear is the intent of the exhibition: to promote destinations between nature, art, traditions and good food for tourists and operators in the sector in search of authentic and emotional paths that increasingly show strong links with concepts such as quality of life, sustainability and the environment. In this context the knowledge of the territories is developed. Not even the secondary mode of travel: walking, hiking, cycling, mountain and hill routes, waterways and spiritual paths to enjoy even the most intimate aspects of a place. Thus every aspect of the journey chain is rediscovered, which finds a lively and attractive space for expression for everyone. Recall that the exhibition area open to the public will be open to visitors, with free admission, from 15th  to 17 tu February. The B2B conference area, reserved for sector operators, will be open on February 14th and 15th. High expectations in terms of rediscounting the public: if in 2017 there were 8000 people who visited the Bergamo festival, already last year the number has doubled. The interest in slow tourism is therefore evident. As for the exhibitors, there are about 170 present realities, 70 of which come from abroad. To animate the context, more than 100 events, including conferences and round tables. Involved in these activities, about forty speakers, both Italian and foreign. There will be theme meetings, book presentations and meetings with authors, projections of docufilm conferences on food and slow travel, show cooking with tastings and as many demonstrations at the individual stands. In short, a really intense and rich program. There are numerous focuses on the 2019 edition of Agri Travel & Slow Travel Expo: Walking paths and slow streets, religious tourism and places of the spirit, and still family farming. A very hot topic, given the proclamation of the decade 2019-2028 as the Decade of family farming. A theme also dear to the fair and that emphasizes how important it is to support small and medium-sized enterprises that work in the agricultural field, and that daily assure quality products on our tables. The opportunity to get to know the realities of other countries, with the relative opportunities for slow travel, is also very interesting. The international area will be very rich, with Spain, Hungary, Romania, Germany and, inevitably, Eurogites, the European Confederation of Rural Tourism, present and partner of Agri Travel & Slow Travel Expo since the first edition. But it does not end here: we also remember the presence of Japan, Bolivia, Senegal, Morocco, Turkey, Uzbekistan, Nepal, Pakistan and others. A significant novelty of 2019 is the presence of the Ministry of Agricultural, Food and Forestry Policies, which will be present with an important project on the sustainability of fishing and aquaculture activities included in the EMFF program, European Fund for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries. its objectives include promoting a competitive, profitable and environmentally sustainable fisheries and aquaculture, as well as socially responsible and aimed at a balanced and inclusive territorial development of fishing and aquaculture areas.In this regard, many will also be moments of tasting and show cooking that will enhance the freshwater fish. Lombardy Region will also offer its contribution, promoting issues related to agriculture, rural tourism and the development of a culture of sustainability, types of travel where tourism manifests itself through slow and zero-impact mobility choices, as are the paths, the journeys by bike, by train, sharing mobility in urban areas and much more. Clearly important is sustainable mobility, as a further stimulus for the development of a type of tourism increasingly close to zero impact. Strong the presence of Pro Loco lombarde, which will offer its excellent culinary, cultural and folk, thanks to the National Union Pro Loco Italiane with its Piazza Italia. Another novelty of this edition is represented by the strong participation of the local area: the area called Destination Bergamo, will see the presence of Visit Bergamo, Chamber of Commerce and Province of Bergamo, surrounded by some of the leading exponents of the promotion of the Bergamo area: Promoserio , Plain to Discover, Promoisola, Visit Brembo. Second year of presence for the Pilgrimage Office of the Diocese of Bergamo. Also this year it assumes a fundamental role in the enhancement of the territory, through the expression of three major thematic areas: the discovery of hidden treasures in places of worship between religion, culture and artistic jewels. The spiritual traditions but also culinary traditions typical of the agricultural and rural world in contact with nature and then again, slow itineraries in the Bergamo area. In this regard it will also be presented the new path called The High Way of the Graces and the project “Young guides, great beauties” that puts the boys in a leading role with respect to the promotion of places of worship in our area. The precious collaboration with UNIACQUE continues, present with an exhibition space of great impact, protagonist and promoter of the conference entitled “Protection and enhancement of the environment: how to build a” tourist landscape “at home on Saturday, February 16th from 8am: 30 to 13:30 at the Sala Caravaggio, aimed at highlighting how much water is preserved represents the central nucleus of a global strategy that sees in water, in its protection and its responsible use, a real keystone for the construction of an integrated project of territorial development. For the participation of professionals at the conference are recognized 5 CFU from the Order of Architects, Planners, Landscapers and Conservators of the province of Bergamo and the College of Agricultural Experts and Agricultural Graduates Graduates of the provinces of Bergamo, Como and Lecco and 0.5 CFU from the Provincial Order of Agronomist Doctors and Forest Doctors of the Province of Bergamo. In this context, 2019 will host the second edition of the international conference “STRD Soustainable Tourism for Rural Development”, between reflections and good practices on the development of rural areas through tourism. Increase the value chain that tourism can generate in rural areas, make the best use of the opportunities offered by digitization (Smart Village, distribution, communication), expand the attractiveness of rural landscapes and learn about demographic changes to reach different types of population, these are the main topics dealt with in STRD2019 which, based on the concept and results of the 2017 experience, unites and combines tourism, agriculture and rural development. Among the seminars and workshops, we mention among others: Experiential and Slow tourism, new market intelligence technologies; product development in tourism and religious tourism. So there are four intense days that will animate the Bergamo exhibition center, located a few kilometers from the international airport Il Caravaggio of Orio al Serio and not far from those of Milan Linate and Milan Malpensa, an element that has always favored the arrival of numerous national and international presences are the creation of a dynamic comparison platform rich in new projects for the future of rural and slow tourism.