Umbria

The Umbrian event of the WIM Tour 2026, hosted at Castello di Petrata, brought the discussion into a region with an evident identity, yet one that is now called to translate this richness into clearer positioning within the private events market.

Umbria offers recognizable landscapes, historic villages, hospitality, distinctive venues and an experiential quality that responds very well to the demand for authentic destinations. However, the day showed that potential alone is not enough. To become a competitive lever, the value of the territory must be organized, communicated and supported by a more coordinated supply chain.

The round tables addressed some internal fragilities of the sector with frankness. Among them, the difficulty of building truly open relationships among professionals, the tendency to remain within established circles and a limited willingness to share opportunities, tools and vision.

These elements risk limiting the growth of the territory, especially when they prevent the inclusion of new operators, reduce the variety of the offer or weaken Umbria’s ability to present itself as a system. Hence the request to create more reliable spaces for meeting, updating and collaborating.

This is not about adding occasional appointments to the calendar, but about building professional spaces where exchange can generate method, trust and continuity. A supply chain may produce events of great quality, but without coordination it struggles to become recognizable and competitive over time.

A second theme concerned the way professional value is communicated. Many operators underlined how difficult it is to make the final client understand what truly makes up an event: design, responsibility, experience, time, coordination, management and service quality.

When these elements remain invisible, price tends to become the only basis for comparison. This leads to unclear offers, devaluation of expertise and difficulty in building solid positioning. For this reason, the round tables called for a more shared language and communication capable of educating the market.

Significant attention was also given to regulation. Common references, clear categories, recognized certifications and professional protection tools are still missing. The proposals collected point to guidelines, training pathways, more coherent ATECO codes, qualification criteria and possible forms of recognition for the different figures involved.

Some groups also imagined operational solutions designed for the Umbrian territory: a repository of qualified professionals, a dedicated portal, a regional search engine for weddings and private events, indexing systems by category and experience, authenticated feedback and a structure capable of strengthening reliability and transparency.

The conversation then expanded to the need to build a true Umbria brand connected to private events. Not a generic label, but an identity grounded in the region’s uniqueness and capable of engaging with national and international markets. To achieve this, coordination, continuity and a shared narrative among businesses, territory and institutions are needed.

The relationship with the public sector was considered a decisive step. Operators are asking for dialogue, more streamlined procedures, more clearly defined roles and dedicated policies for an industry that involves hospitality, production, services, craftsmanship, creativity, logistics, culture and territorial promotion.

The material gathered during the day will feed into the analysis process of WIM Insights, the observatory developed under the scientific direction of the University of Siena, contributing to a more precise reading of the Italian Private Events Industry starting from the specificities of each territory.

Special thanks go to the partners of the Umbrian event: Destination Umbria, local producer and HR partner of the day; Giulia Barabani Weddings & Exclusive Events and Verdi Voglie Eventi for their collaboration; Castello di Petrata for location, hotel and catering; Alessandro Mari Photography and Andrea e Federica for the photographic narrative; Wedding Motion for video; Vintage Portrait by Vignarolistudio for the photobooth; Elena Perini for content creation; Stagelight for service; and Leandro Flowers for the floral design.

Umbria leaves this event with a concrete awareness: the territory already has many strengths, but it must turn them into tools, relationships and method. Only in this way can the beauty of its places become a real competitive advantage for the entire industry.