Tourism for Italy is confirmed as the goose that lays the golden eggs also in the summer of 2018: according to the latest estimates elaborated by Confturismo-Confcommercio in collaboration with the trade federations Federalberghi, Faita, Fipe, Fto, Sib and the Istituto Piepoli, the expenditure of foreigners in Italy will be 7 billion euros higher than the expenditure of Italians on holiday abroad. It is 16 billion euros against the 9 spent by Italians outside the border, a difference which - the promoters of the research claim - is not recorded in any other sector of the Italian economy. In the face of around 300.000 Italians who have canceled or postponed a holiday between May and July due to bad weather, it is foreigners who save the season this year.
SUMMER HOLIDAYS 2018, SOUTH AND ISLANDS BEAT NORTH
As far as only foreign tourists heading to Italy are concerned, the preference in favor of the South and the islands. In fact, compared to last year where only 15% of total tourist expenditure was recorded in the South, this year the South gains a good 6 percentage points. The North-West in particular is paying the price, which drops by 4 percentage points and the North-East which loses 3.
According to Confturismo, 38 million international passengers will storm Italian airports: 2 million more than in the summer of 2017, half of which are destined for the south.
In detail of the destinations, it becomes interesting to look at the new international competitive panorama, especially if one remains in the Mediterranean basin. Destinations like Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt and Turkey, after being out of action for over 3 years, are back in the limelight registering significant arrivals above all from France and Germany, the latter being the top client of the Italian offer with 20% of the total tourist expenditure of foreigners in our country. Also Croatia goes up, increasing by more than 20% the arrivals of Germans and Austrians, as well as Italians, while Portugal, penalized by a problem of air connections - especially on the Azores - after the crash of the airlines Monarch, Lauda Air and Air Berlin, slows down growth.
SUMMER HOLIDAYS 2018, LESS HOTELS AND MORE CAMPSITES
If the trend of the arrivals in hotels is uneven and appears below expectations, those in the 2 Italian campsites and tourist villages will be up by 2017% compared to 2.650: a positive result that will bring the total arrivals back beyond the 10 million threshold – to be precise to 10,3 million – already exceeded in the 2015 season, and that last year it was 9,9 million. A total, therefore, of around 69,7 million presences, which in 2017 were 68.
The catering sector is not enthusiastic about the trend of the summer season: if for the month of June the results are more or less in line with those of a year ago, it is in July that the evaluation becomes strongly negative and the balance, among the interviewees , of those who believe that the month will be better than last year and those who believe it will be worse is equal to -37,5% and if this sentiment is confirmed at the end of the season, we can speak of a drop of -10% compared to the 2017 season .
SUMMER HOLIDAYS 2018, THE MOST POPULAR DESTINATIONS
How do Italians behave when they go on vacation? According to Confturismo-Confcommercio data, the average budget to be allocated to the summer holidays will be equal to 847 euros per capita and the month in which you will spend the most is August - which is also the month in which most Italians will go on holiday - with an average expenditure of 910 euros. In general, compared to the summer of last year, 13% more respondents from Confturismo declare that they will spend more on holidays than the previous year. For 80% of the Italians interviewed, the preferred destinations remain the domestic ones: Sicily, Puglia, Tuscany and Emilia Romagna, Sardinia, Campania, Calabria and Trentino Alto Adige, while the remaining 20% while preferring to stay in Europe between Spain, France and Greece, is willing to cross the ocean to fly to the States or in Argentina or even up to Japan. Instead, among the most desired activities by the Italians there will be a lot of sea, visits to museums and cities of art and a longed-for rest.
