The Scientific Committee of the Destination Wedding Tourism (DWT) Observatory composed of Massimo Feruzzi, Scientific Director of the Observatory; Bianca Trusiani; Paolo Corvo; Giovanni Salvati Celestino; and Valerio Schönfeld met the press at Enit premises in Rome, Italy.

The Italian DWT Observatory, curated by JFC, aims to be the main tool for knowledge and constant monitoring of the “wedding phenomenon” in all its elements of value and interest and aims to provide useful information to the entire national system (operators, institutions, journalists, experts, etc.).

Massimo Ferruzzi anticipated the results of the primary research, that being the following types of wedding groups – mini weddings of foreigners under 35 in Italy are increasing; the so-called “big spenders,” with short stays of 3 days at an exceptional level: business class air travel, 5-star hospitality, starred catering; and a wedding with just a few guests (maximum 12 people), mainly couples of friends.

For a marriage ceremony similar to this, 86,000 euro was spent in Italy for 3 days.

The family sphere is also growing with marriages of couples, mainly second marriages, who married with children in tow. These couples are over 40 who are celebrating with other couples and children, generally the same age as their children. For these marriages, attention to everything in the service of children is a priority.

Finally, adventure-nature weddings are also on the increase. These are mainly couples who come from northern Europe and want to practice a mix of sports, even adrenaline, for an average of 10 days in Italy. They are young couples (26-35 years old), environmentalists, and sportsmen, who, with couples of friends, are looking for “like & bike” experiences, canyoning and rafting, and slow walks, to name a few. This category can reach up to 40 participants.

Unlike the various monitoring systems and observatories already active in other market segments and which other entities already implement, the methodology adopted here is not limited to pure statistical analysis but is developed through various study phases carried out during different periods of the year, focusing on phenomenological, economic, and sociological factors of great interest.

“With this Observatory,” said Massimo Feruzzi, Scientific Director of DWT, “we set ourselves the goal of making available to the entire tourist community – operators, journalists, public bodies – a tool for in-depth knowledge and constant monitoring of the ‘wedding phenomenon’ in all its elements of value and interest.

“It is a complex activity, as it focuses on the survey of as many as 17 areas that make up the wedding product chain, involving specialized operators, the brokerage system, and wedding planners active all over the world.”

“In essence, the Observatory photographs this segment by periodically providing a series of indicators – sociological, trend, and economic – on the conjuncture of wedding tourism in Italy. It is with great satisfaction that we present this new project of Buy Wedding in Italy,” said Valerio Schönfeld, founder and director of BWI, “which we firmly wanted. The Buy Wedding in Italy platform consists of several multi-channel services and a B2B trade that will take place on November 12-14, 2019 in Bologna.

“The DWT National Observatory is a further step, and for us, it represents a point of arrival and a starting point. We hope to release the first data of the Observatory edited by Massimo Feruzzi in a press conference on November 12 which will open the DWT event in Bologna.

According to Bianca Trusiani, who chairs the technical scientific committee of the DWT and is among the leading experts in the wedding sector: “Marriage is a very complex process, including multitudes of operators and activities to plan, generating new possibilities for the territories and companies.

“The actors that interact in this market are many. It is, therefore, necessary to put the entire local offer in place in order to enter the Destination Wedding market and go to intercept both B2B and B2C flows. The need for such an articulated Observatory can give the possibility of identifying the impact indicators for the creation of the tourist product of the short chain.

“To date, many territories throughout Italy are starting to be really interested in destination weddings and ask for support precisely because they want real solutions that bring concrete results.”