The tourism industry finally breathes a sigh of relief and enjoy a well-deserved vacation. Those of 2022 may not be record numbers, but in any case they will get the sector that has suffered the most from the effects of the pandemic back on its feet, returning to pre-Covid levels. Thanks to the summer holidays, but also to the very welcome return of foreign tourists to Italy, with a 20% increase in arrivals from the United States.
Tourism: 27 million Italians on holiday
According to the data published by the Confcommercio Tourism Observatory, created in collaboration with SWG, between July and September there will be 27 million Italians leaving for the holidays. Numbers that could have been even higher if Covid, inflation, expensive energy and political instability hadn't led some travelers to give up, but which in any case are in line with 2019, when the word pandemic had not yet entered our everyday lives. In July there were 12,3 million departures, 4,5 million less than estimated.
Among those who will leave between August and September, nine out of ten (88%) will choose Italian destinations, above all the sea (44% of preferences), followed by cities (especially those of art and small villages) with 21% and by the mountains (15% of answers).
The most coveted destination? Puglia, followed by Emilia Romagna, Tuscany and Sicily. Finally, those going abroad will choose Europe above all (Greece at the top, closely followed by Spain, France and Croatia).
Tourism: bookings at pre-Covid levels
The forecasts of Federturismo are also positive, according to which between June and September arrivals will grow by 15%, a goal that could, however, even be exceeded. Optimism especially for June and September. Until three weeks ago, in Italy, 60% of the rooms for August were already booked nationally, with peaks of 72% for seaside resorts. In 2021 the same figure stopped at 33%.
Data in line with those released at the end of July by Confindustria Alberghi, according to which, in the June-July two-month period 62% of hotel facilities have reached pre-covid levels and around 47% saw better results than in the June-July 2019 two-month period (+7%).
"At the moment, bookings in August are on average showing higher results than in the same period of 2019 thanks to the increase in foreigners (+1,2%), while those of Italians are in line with those of 2019 (+0,1%")" , the association said.
Foreign tourists return to Italy and spending reaches 17 billion
The good news doesn't end there. After an absence of three years, 2022 marks the return of foreign tourists to Italy. A long-awaited return, as much appreciated by the entire industry. Why? Because among them there are the so-called "big spenders" capable of decreeing - by themselves - the success of the season. Not surprisingly, according to a study by Confcommercio, in collaboration with TRA Consulting, on the forecasts of foreign tourist arrivals in Italy for the 2022 summer season, the tourist expenditure of foreigners in Italy in the July-September quarter will be around € 17 billion, values similar to those recorded before the outbreak of the pandemic.
The push will come mainly from the Americans: they are 2,2 arrivals expected from the USA, which will guarantee a total expenditure of over 2,1 billion euros, 20% higher than that of 2019. Many Canadians, Australians and South Africans are also arriving, while the Asian market is slowly recovering. On the contrary, they can be said practically due to the war in Ukraine, arrivals from Russia were zeroed.
As far as European tourists are concerned, the ones who return will mainly be the Spanish (around one million are expected, on the levels of three years ago) and a good performance is also expected for i British, while the German tourists, the first incoming market for Italy. While more is expected than in 2019 in the Italian destinations that are more easily accessible by own means and by road, a limited arrival is instead to be expected in the South and Islands due to the difficulties weighing on air connections (July saw a 27% drop in German arrivals by air compared to 2019). Not a small amount of damage, if we consider that those with the highest average purchasing power usually arrive in the South. In general, however, it should be highlighted that in the last month the offer of flights to Italy was 8,1% lower than in 2019 due to the chaos that hit international airports.
Finally, the research highlights a change in the behavior of travelers due to the uncertainties generated by the pandemic and the war: airline tickets are booked ever closer of departure. The time between the purchase and the actual trip went on average from 79 to 61 days.
“The return of foreign tourism after three years contributes to consolidate our economic recovery. The prospects, however, are uncertain due to the decrease in consumption, the unrest in air transport and the unknown pandemic. It is therefore necessary that support for the tourism sector is among the priorities of the next executive in terms of contrasting high energy costs and reducing the tax burden”: said the president of Confcommercio, Carlo Sangalli.
