Expo’s Number One Pavilion? A Case Study of Italy Pavilion’s Visitor Experience at the Expo 2025 Osaka

In 2025, Japan hosted the Expo 2025 in Osaka, Kansai. This event was advertised all over Japan as it hosted almost all nations from across the globe. This way, the artificial island Yumeshima has become a melting pot where nations from all across the globe got the chance to showcase their culture and the ways in which they are facing an unspoken race towards modernization. This ever-increasing competition for modernization becomes apparent through the theme for last year’s international exposition. Under the slogan “Designing Future Society for Our Lives”, all participating countries were encouraged to reveal their most advanced technological discoveries in the form of national pavilions that had been built on Yumeshima. And by consequence of this, a highly competitive environment had been created in which every nation was taking part in the run for the “number one pavilion” spot. This research focuses on studying why the Italy Pavilion was the forerunner amongst all the international pavilions, and how its popularity affected visitor interactions. For example, why were visitors willing to queue for several hours just to visit it? The methodology applied consists of a mixed methods approach. First, the demographic data of visitors shall be analyzed in order to determine interests of different generations, as well as spending habits and the funds spent on one's trip to Yumeshima; the latter being particularly of interest when considering how many foreign visitors the Expo had. To achieve that, the survey includes questions to determine quantitative data about the visitors, such as their origins or age. To obtain a comprehensive understanding of individual opinions on the Italy Pavilion, direct Interviews were also conducted. The questionnaire also consists of qualitative questions, aimed at understanding the particular reasons behind what they liked about the pavilion. The research does not consider the opinion of every single visitor but is limited to a sample group that is used to estimate the point of view of entirety of the guests. This research provides a comprehensive study on visitors’ multifaceted opinions, using Italy Pavilion’s success as a case study.