MILAN (ITALPRESS) – Eighteen hundred million euros of turnover, 300 million euros of turnover and an EBITDA of 21,5 million euros. These are the numbers of the Uvet Group, a Milanese company specialized in business travel that today has 700 direct occupants and 11 hotels in management. To trace the budget of the year and the future prospects is the president Luca Patanè, interviewed by Claudio Brachino for the television magazine Italpress Economy.“ The 2025 was a great year, it went better than 2024, and we expect for 2026 a further growth”, explains Patanè, who leads a company articulated on several fronts: business travel for companies, event organization, retail travel agencies and tour operating. The presence of the group on the national territory is capillary, with offices in Milan, Bologna, Treviso, Turin, Rome, Matera and Florence. The perspectives in the business sector, according to the president, are light but constant growth, closely linked to the trends of the economy. “At the growth of the economy there is a growth in travel,” says Patanè, emphasizing that among customers there are numerous small and medium-sized Italian companies, as well as large companies. In recent years the travel industry has experienced a profound transformation. “The suppliers – hotels, airlines, car rentals – have changed and have faced special demands related to sustainability,” the president explains. Accommodation facilities had to adapt to environmental standards, while airlines faced the challenge of low-impact fuels to reduce CO2 emissions. These changes also influenced consumer behaviour, increasingly oriented towards sustainable choices. Digitization has revolutionized the relationship with customers. “We communicate a lot through the tools,” explains Patanè, referring to digital tools that allow bookings, comments and integration with business systems. The technological evolution allows today to send video messages or voice messages to book a flight, but the human touch remains irreplaceable. “There is still a fairly manual job when you need to see the traveller in trouble, because there are a thousand unforeseen”, emphasizes the president of the Uvet group. With customers travelling around the world, often in complex areas, it serves a professionalism built over the years to manage emergencies, interface with suppliers who do not speak international languages and solve problems in real time. On the front of technological innovation, Patanè adopts a pragmatic approach. “The big date helps you know the customer well, but you have to ask him the right questions, otherwise they only tell you trivial things,” he warns. The challenge is to be able to read between the lines of the demands, anticipate the unexpressed needs, avoid automatic answers that “feel more time”. “It is important to follow the development of technology in the next ten years to understand the real weight of man and machine,” he said. Finally, Patanè highlights the success of the last edition of the Biztravel Forum, an event organized by Uvet and reached the 23rd edition. This year the location was the Palazzo del Ghiaccio in Milan, near CONI, to celebrate the Olympic year with the participation of companies sponsoring the Games. Tourism Minister Daniela Santanchè was also present. “It’s a think tank that we carry on adapting the formats to the change of consumer mood,” explains Patanè. The event has become “a reference point to strengthen the relationship between suppliers, customers and agencies, fundamental to design future trends”.
– Photo Italpress –
(ITALPRESS).
