Il Italian tourism saved again by foreign. The first estimates for the 2023 summer tourist season show a number record of presences of foreign visitors in Italy, confirming a trend that has been ongoing for at least two decades: since 2003 foreign presences have grown by 54%, offsetting the national ones, which fell by 7%. This is what emerges from the analysts' brief Cassa Depositi e Prestiti on the Italian tourism sector.
Another important data emerges from the in-depth study "Tourism recovery in Italy: what future after the summer?", according to which the increase in global tourist flows expected in the next decade could be worth up to around 30 million arrivals for Italy more. The main catalysts: the Jubilee of 2025, 2026 Milan Cortina Olympics, and the possible Expo 2030 in Rome.
Summer 2023: boom in foreigners, but Italians go abroad
Between June and August a new record was reached, with over 100 million foreign visitors, while for Italian there has been a trend towards less expensive foreign destinations, like Albania, which led to a figure below expectations for the domestic component of tourist movements.
The analysis indicates three trends that are emerging globally and that the tourism sector will be called upon to deal with in the next decade:
- the flows will come mainly fromAsia, where the growth of the middle class will be more marked, and will be characterized by a growing search for unique experiences, preferably luxury ones;
- the holiday will be even more sustainable and digitalised, pushing operators to compete on green services and on offers that, using technology, can be increasingly personalized;
- destinations that are less common today will be more appreciated, with the impacts of global warming which will exercise a growing influence on destination choices.
Italian tourism: among the five least polluting in the EU
A little-known strong point emerges from the brief: Italian tourism is among the five less polluting in the European Union thanks to the high incidence of renewables on the total energy consumption of hotels. But to remain competitive, maximizing the potential offered to foreign visitors, the document indicates a mix of interventions aimed at directing the sector towards:
- a growing industrialization of its operators, also through greater use of risk capital and more flexible hotel management models, so as to reduce the fragmentation of the accommodation offer and encourage the creation of national champions;
- un shortening of the gap between labor supply and demand, leveraging improved training programmes, a greater number of schools dedicated to hospitality and refresher and strengthening courses for operators in the sector;
- a valorisation of secondary locations and less seasonal forms of tourism, attractive not only in a limited period of the year, such as cycle tourism, non-ski mountain tourism, spa and food and wine tourism.
