BTO

What BTO does

BTO (Be Travel Onlife) is an Italian digital tourism conference and event platform founded in 2008 and headquartered in Florence. Originally launched as "Buy Tourism Online" to help hospitality operators understand how the internet was changing travel purchasing, BTO has run 17 consecutive annual editions and is positioned as Italy's leading reference event for digital innovation in tourism. The core offering is a two-day annual conference held at Stazione Leopolda in Florence, featuring 80–100+ sessions (keynotes, panels, "Toolboxes," and product presentations) with 230–300 international speakers. Surrounding the live event, BTO operates BTO rePlay (on-demand video access), the Shop.bto.travel ticketing platform, an Exhibitors' Club, the monthly Tourism Radar publication, a Young Speakers Program, and BTO on Tour regional webinars.

BTO serves six customer segments: tourism operators (hotels, travel agencies, hospitality), food & wine sector operators, destination governance bodies, marketing and promotion professionals, digital and technology suppliers, and researchers/academics. Underlying technology is a conventional event stack — a Uplink Web Agency-managed ticketing platform, Mailchimp for newsletters (14k+ subscribers), YouTube/BTO rePlay for video, and standard Google/Meta analytics — with no proprietary AI or data products disclosed.

The business model is event-driven: ticket sales (€19 pay-per-view, €49–€149 individual tickets, €79–€129 group Carnets, all VAT-inclusive) plus partnership and exhibitor sponsorship revenue. BTO is a brand jointly owned by Regione Toscana and Camera di Commercio di Firenze, organized through Toscana Promozione Turistica, PromoFirenze, and Fondazione Sistema Toscana — making it a public-private initiative rather than a venture-backed private company. Marketing is multi-channel: owned website and newsletter, broad social presence (Facebook, Instagram, X, LinkedIn, YouTube, Flickr), and extensive earned media (Corriere della Sera, La Repubblica, Ansa, RAI, RTV38, Rainews.it, trade press).

Name

BTO

Legal name

BTO - Be Travel Onlife

Website

https://bto.travel

Company type

Private

Founded year

2008

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

BTO (Be Travel Onlife) is an Italian digital tourism conference and event platform, jointly owned by Regione Toscana and Camera di Commercio di Firenze, hosting an annual two-day conference in Florence for tourism operators, hospitality professionals, destination managers, and technology suppliers, complemented by on-demand content, ticketing, and monthly editorial publications.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Florence

HQ country

Italy

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Marketing or Sales, Personnel, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Ticket Sales: BTO generates revenue through ticket sales for its annual conference-event. Multiple ticket tiers are available including full 2-day passes, single-day tickets, group carnets, young people discounts, and Tuscany-specific tickets. Additional revenue comes from Pay per View packages for on-demand content access.
2. Partnership and Sponsorship: Companies can become partners or exhibitors at BTO events, gaining access to a well-profiled audience of tourism professionals. Partnership solutions are customized based on specific company needs.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

BTO – Be Travel Onlife is an annual two-day conference-event on digital innovation in tourism held at Stazione Leopolda in Florence. It sells paid access (tickets, carnets, Pay-per-View on-demand) to tourism operators and offers customized partnership and sponsorship packages to companies serving the hospitality industry. The portfolio includes the BTO rePlay on-demand video platform and themed publications such as Tourism Radar.

Product overview

BTO – Be Travel Onlife is a conference-event platform organized by Regione Toscana and Camera di Commercio di Firenze, hosting Italy's leading tourism and digital innovation event. The core offering is the annual two-day conference at Stazione Leopolda, Florence (11th edition), featuring over 100 sessions across keynotes, panels, and Toolbox formats. The portfolio includes BTO rePlay (on-demand video access), the Shop.bto.travel ticketing platform, the Exhibitors' Club exhibition area, Tourism Radar monthly publications, and the Young Speakers Program for emerging professionals. Founded in 2008 as Buy Tourism Online, the event has grown from a regional hospitality-focused conference to a national reference point for travel digital innovation.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• BTO Conference Annual two-day in-person conference held at Stazione Leopolda in Florence, featuring over 100 sessions including keynotes, panel discussions, hands-on 'Toolboxes', and product presentations. Targeted at Italian tourism operators, hospitality professionals, destination managers, and technology suppliers seeking digital innovation insights and networking. BTO 2025 attracted over 12,000 accesses across 80 events.
• BTO rePlay On-demand video content platform providing paying access to recorded BTO conference sessions and speaker slides for 4 months after each event. Includes a Pay-per-View tier (€19 for 10 selected events) bundled with Full 2-day, Single-day, Tuscany Ticket, and Young People ticket options, extending the value of BTO beyond the live event window.
• Partnership and Sponsorship Solutions Customized B2B partnership and sponsorship packages enabling companies to participate in BTO events as exhibitors or partners, with access to a profiled audience of tourism operators, DMO representatives, hospitality professionals, and researchers. Solutions are tailored to each company's specific objectives — exhibitor booth, branded sessions, or strategic partnership.

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

17 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Regione ToscanacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRegione Toscana is the co-owner of the BTO brand and primary institutional supporter. The event is part of regional actions for digital communication development and tourism promotion.
• Camera di Commercio di FirenzecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCamera di Commercio di Firenze is co-owner of the BTO brand and provides institutional support for the event through PromoFirenze.
• Toscana Promozione TuristicacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOfficial organizer and promoter of BTO events, responsible for event organization and promotion activities.
• PromoFirenze – Azienda Speciale della Camera di Commercio di FirenzecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSpecial agency of the Chamber of Commerce of Florence that organizes and promotes BTO events, with offices at Piazza dei Giudici, Florence.
• Fondazione Sistema ToscanacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerParticipatory non-profit foundation that organizes and promotes BTO events, located at Via Duca d'Aosta n°9, Florence.
• Uplink Web Agency S.r.l.coreTechnology or IntegrationExternal manager for ticketing platform (shop.bto.travel) and data processing for event participation. Located at Via Aurelia 929, Rosignano M.mo (LI), Italy.
• Università degli Studi di FirenzeminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcademic institution providing scientific support through participation of professors attentive to travel digital innovation.
• ALMA – Scuola Internazionale di Cucina ItalianaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational culinary school providing scientific sponsorship and gastronomic expertise to BTO events.
• CISET – Centro Internazionale di Studi sul TurismominorStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational Centre for Tourism Studies providing academic sponsorship and research support.
• Fondazione CampusminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFoundation providing scientific sponsorship and support for tourism research at BTO.
• IULM – Libera Università di Lingue e ComunicazioneminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerUniversity providing academic sponsorship and scientific support for BTO events.
• Meta Platforms (Facebook, Instagram)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerSocial media platforms used for event promotion, content sharing, and community engagement.
• X/TwitterminorGTM or Marketing PartnerSocial media platform for event updates, live engagement, and community communication.
• LinkedIn CorporationminorGTM or Marketing PartnerProfessional social network used for BTO professional networking and content sharing.
• Rainews.itminorGTM or Marketing PartnerMajor Italian news broadcaster providing extensive media coverage of BTO events with video reports and news articles.
• Travel QuotidianominorGTM or Marketing PartnerLeading Italian travel trade media outlet serving as media partner for BTO.
• Guida ViaggiminorGTM or Marketing PartnerItalian travel industry publication serving as media partner.

Scale indicators11 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• ITB Berlin: The world's largest travel trade show, with a dedicated ITB Berlin Convention covering digital transformation in tourism. Comparable as a broad incumbent B2B tourism event whose technology content track directly competes with BTO's digital-innovation positioning.
• IBTM World: Leading global event for the meetings, incentives, conferences and events (MICE) industry, held in Barcelona. Comparable as a B2B events industry trade show with similar audiences of suppliers, destinations, and technology providers relevant to BTO's event-integrated tourism focus.
• Phocuswright Conference: Premier global conference focused specifically on travel and tourism technology, distribution, and innovation. The closest functional peer given its narrow but deep focus on digital transformation in travel—overlapping directly with BTO's core theme and audience.
• FITUR - Feria Internacional de Turismo: Major annual international tourism trade fair held in Madrid, with a dedicated FITUR TechY section on digital tourism innovation. Comparable as a Southern European national tourism fair with strong digital-innovation programming and overlapping Mediterranean audience.
• WTM - World Travel Market London: The leading global travel trade event held annually in London, with co-located Travel Forward technology conference. Most directly comparable international peer given its explicit technology-in-tourism programming and similar B2B audience of operators, destinations, and tech vendors.
• BIT - Borsa Internazionale del Turismo: Italy's largest international tourism trade fair held annually in Milan. Directly comparable as a domestic B2B tourism event serving the same Italian operator and exhibitor audience, with overlapping themes of digital innovation and destination marketing.
• TTG Travel Experience: Long-running Italian tourism trade show held in Rimini alongside SIA Guest. Comparable as a domestic B2B travel distribution and digital innovation event serving Italian tour operators, OTAs, and destination marketers.

Regional players

• ENIT - Agenzia Nazionale del Turismo: Italy's national tourism board responsible for promoting Italy internationally. Comparable as a public-sector tourism promotion entity at the national level, complementing the regional promotion work BTO performs for Tuscany via Regione Toscana and PromoFirenze.
• Arabian Travel Market (ATM): Leading travel trade event for the Middle East region held annually in Dubai. Comparable in format (annual B2B tourism trade show with strong digital content) but operates in a different geography from BTO's Italian base.

Emerging players

• EyeforTravel: Specialist conferences and research provider focused on digital transformation, distribution, and AI in travel and hospitality. Comparable as a niche, content-led event series targeting the same digital-tourism-innovation audience as BTO, though with global rather than Italian-only reach.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/BTO_travel
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCZe_7c3UKRQmqTrL8eRpLog
• Facebookfacebook.com/BTO.Official
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/bto-be-travel-onlife
• Instagraminstagram.com/bto_betravelonlife

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about BTO