Since 2022, BTO Young Speaker has been bringing the ideas of people under 35 to the stage at Stazione Leopolda: original visions, concrete proposals, and perspectives that the industry cannot ignore. Now in its fifth edition, it is one of the most anticipated events at BTO. Because there can be no true innovation without listening to the generation that will drive change.
The 2025 Edition – TESEA, the City to Rediscover
In 2025, the Call presented an imaginative challenge: TESEA, a university town overwhelmed by a tourism boom, seeking a balance between its residents and its visitors. Eight young professionals took the stage at BTO 2025 with proposals that spanned Italy and Europe and are now compiled in “TESEA: The Rediscovered City,” the BTO Young Speaker paper.
The 2026 Call | Which tribe are you traveling with?
The average tourist no longer exists. There are tribes: new, fluid, impermanent, held together by values, vibes, and affinities rather than by age, nationality, or budget. People choose a destination for its atmosphere, book through an AI assistant, check in on their own without seeing a soul—and yet they’ve never felt such a strong need to belong. Even if only for the duration of a trip.
This is the paradox at the heart of BTO 2026, Offbeat Tribes: the desire to be unique and the need to feel like part of something. For destinations and businesses, the challenge is no longer to be found, but to be chosen.
This year, we’re not asking you to solve a problem, but to show us a world: tell us about a tribe of travelers—whether real, emerging, or still unseen—and imagine how tourism might resonate with them. We’re looking for visions, insights, and perspectives that go beyond the beaten path.
Mark your route
- Passing Tribes — Gatherings, festivals, secular pilgrimages, short-term communities: What do they leave behind in the local area, and how do we plan for what remains?
- Analog Tribe — Disconnection, Slowness, Screen-Free Travel: How Do You Reach Those Seeking the Most Radical Offbeat of All—the Offline?
- Authentic, Reproducible — If the idea of authenticity can be copied endlessly, thereby losing its meaning, who still seeks it, and what are they really looking for? How can one honestly convey the identity of a place, and what makes it irreproducible?
- “The Tribe Is Those Who Stay ” — How can we engage residents as the destination’s primary community, so that visitors’ sense of belonging does not exclude the residents’ own?
- The Invisible Tribe — Which traveler communities has no one yet seen (or served), and how do you design an offering that recognizes them?
- The Missing Track — Do you want to bring up a track we haven’t mentioned? Make it the focus of the discussion.
There’s just one rule: a tribe isn’t an exclusive club. Your idea must balance uniqueness and openness, without excluding those who aren’t part of it.
Fill out the online formby October 7 with your proposal: you could present your idea on stage at BTO 2026, on November 10 and 11 at the Stazione Leopolda in Florence.*
*Selected speakers will be provided with travel, lodging, and lunch vouchers during the event.
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