Milan: a digital platform to connect trade fairs and the local area

A digital platform that offers those attending a trade fair in Milan information on local cultural attractions, event calendars and even guidance on travelling by train, thereby enriching the experience of visitors and exhibitors during their stay in Italia. This is the aim of ‘My Fair Plus – Beyond the Exhibition’, the new digital platform promoted by Fondazione Fiera Milano and unveiled yesterday at La Scala in Milan.

“With My Fair Plus, we are harnessing the power of trade fairs to benefit the local area,” said Giovanni Bozzetti, President of Fondazione Fiera Milano. “Every year, over 4.5 million people visit Fiera Milano’s events, but through our communications about these events we can reach a potential audience of around 15 million people worldwide,” he added. This extraordinary network of connections is something the organisers intend to transform into an opportunity to showcase the region’s finest products and services.

The project is backed by the Minister for Tourism, Gianmarco Mazzi, who emphasised that ‘international tourists are tech-savvy; they plan their travel experiences, and it is estimated that over 80 per cent do so by consulting social media, whilst the proportion using artificial intelligence has also grown’. Italia, Mazzi pointed out, has a trade fair system which, in 2025, “attracted 18.5 million visitors, making it the fourth-largest country in the world and second in Europe after Germany. And Milan is the driving force behind this in Italia”.

Partners include Teatro alla Scala, Trenitalia, Trenord, the Qualivita Foundation and Ambasciatori del Gusto.

“Creating opportunities for those arriving in Milan on business to engage with the city’s cultural highlights means offering a more comprehensive experience of the city and highlighting the warmth and openness that have always set it apart,” said Fortunato Ortombina, superintendent of La Scala.