In Italy, the spending share of US tourists in 2016 stood at 13% of the total. The Bel Paese concentrates many elements of attraction for US tourists: first and foremost culture, which for them is the first factor in choosing travel destinations. In the ranking of countries with high spending volumes, Americans stand out for purchases on the Italian market (4,7 billion euros in 2016), with an average of 1.166 euros of purchases per capita and 135 euros per night of stay. Accommodation is the first item of expenditure (2,0 billion euros), followed by bars and restaurants (1,1), shopping (0,8) and transport (0,4). By type of accommodation, the hotel is the most popular solution by Americans, with an incidence of 69,1% of total expenditure for this item3.
Italy boasts a record cultural and landscape heritage (first in the world for the number of UNESCO protected sites). However, the expenditure made by non-residents is still lower than the potential attraction of the Bel Paese, being lower than the French, German and Spanish ones. The CSC estimates that, if this potential were to find full expression, spending by non-residents in Italy would rise by 42,8% (+15,1 billion euro); for the USA the increase would be 38,3%, equal to +1,8 billion euros, of which +0,8 billion for accommodation alone (+0,5 billion for the hotel sector).
Overall, tourism represents a sector of primary importance for the country. Its direct contribution to GDP is 4,2% (5,0% for employment); if the indirect effects are also considered, it rises to 10,2% (11,6% of employment)4. Not to mention that traveling to Italy offers the opportunity to fully appreciate and experience the beautiful and well-made, transforming tourists into ambassadors of Made in Italy in the world.
Americans prefer Italy…
The majority of Americans travel within the US (55%). Taking one hundred the number of tourists6 who go abroad, 35% choose to stay in the Americas: 14% in Mexico, 12% in the Caribbean and 7% in Canada. Among overseas destinations, Italy ranks first, attracting 4% of tourists, followed by France (3%) and the United Kingdom (3%).
Among the travel motivations of Americans, culture stands out, first in terms of number of preferences (28,4%) among non-economic reasons. Other factors that determine the routes of the Americans are the climate (16,7%), the presence of family members in the destination (15,8%) and the concurrence of cultural, sporting or other events (14,3 ,48,3%). Among the economic reasons, the fact that "one spends well" (34,4%) in the destination stands out; this includes both the exchange effect and the perception of quality in relation to the price of goods and services purchased. The cost of accommodation is the second economic factor of choice with 17,2% of the preferences expressed, followed by the cost of the flight with XNUMX%.
…and have among the highest spending values
American visitors are second in terms of expenditure in Italy with 4,7 billion euros in 2016, 13% of the total. In 2015, with a per capita expenditure of 1.166 euros per visitor, Americans far outpace the United Kingdom (654), Germany (465) and France (290). Keeping the focus on the same group of countries, Americans are also first in spending per night of stay (135 euros), ahead of the British (106), the French (97) and the Germans (87). High-spending tourists from Japan (1.657 euros per visitor and 194 per night), China (1.450 and 84),
South Korea (1.305 and 117) and Russia (1.160 and 157); even if, overall, spending volumes from the US far exceed those from these countries.
The age group of American tourists that generates the greatest expenditure is between 45-64 years of age, for a total of 1,4 billion euros in 2015, with a per capita expenditure of 1.276 euros and a 29,5 .35%. The highest percentage of presences is that of Americans in the 44-32,0 age range equal to 1.102%, with a per capita expenditure of 1,3 euros and a total of XNUMX billion.
The largest expenditure item is accommodation with 2,0 billion euros (42,4%), followed by catering with 1,1 billion (23,3%) and purchases of goods in shops with 0,8 billion (16,2%). Other goods and services (such as museum or theater tickets) account for 0,4 billion euros (8,9%) and represent 16% of the total spent by non-residents on this item, confirming the high propensity of Americans to participation in cultural events. Transportation, including the possible purchase of fuel, costs Americans who come to Italy 0,4 billion (9,2%).
Americans prefer quality over price when choosing accommodation. 69,1% of the total expenditure by type of accommodation is attributable to overnight stays in hotels. In second position is the rental of a house/apartment (10,7%). There are few US visitors who choose relatively cheap lodging solutions: less than 10% of the spending share for Bed&Breakfast and other accommodations. Many Americans come to visit relatives or friends (9,6%).
There is still ample room for improvement
Not infrequently we hear of Italy as the country that concentrates the most important artistic and cultural heritage in the world. It is impossible to quantify exactly what its value is and to what extent it is comparable with other states, but it is certain that the Bel Paese enjoys an unparalleled cultural and landscape richness. An authoritative testimony to this is the ranking of countries by number of sites protected by UNESCO as World Heritage. Italy is in fact first with 53 sites followed by China with 52 and Spain with 46. The richness of the Italian monumental and landscape heritage is even more astounding when compared to the relatively small area of the territory: in the country there are 17,6 sites per 100.000 sq km, against 9,0 in Spain and 0,5 in China.
Despite this, the Bel Paese fails to stand out among the main European destinations for spending by non-residents: first is France (52 billion euros in 2014), followed by Spain (50), Germany (43) and, lastly, Italy (35). It should be emphasized that these values include both spending by leisure and business travelers and that this certainly penalizes Italy compared to countries such as Germany and France, where financial or institutional centers (e.g. Frankfurt, Paris and Strasbourg) attract streams of high-spending visitors from all over the world for business reasons. Nevertheless, Italy remains well below even Spain.
These data reveal ample room for improvement for spending by non-residents in Italy. The CSC and Prometeia estimate that if Italy equaled the Spanish performance, thus reaching a 4,5% share of world spending by non-residents, it would increase the receipts of foreign travelers by 42,8% compared to the results achieved in 2016. For the US market, the increase would be 38,3%, equal to +1,8 billion euros compared to 4,7 in 2016. This would translate into an increase spread over all expenditure items: the expenses for the accommodation with a bonus of 0,8 billion euros followed by restaurants and bars (+0,4), shopping (+0,3) and transport together with other services (both +0,2).
