Tourism: the industrial sector is worth one billion euros

It is a complete immersion in the past, exploring the origins of manufacturing, industry and food and wine. A journey to discover ‘how we used to be’ through vintage advertisements and equipment, accounting machines and lathes, invoices, catalogues and price lists, culminating in vintage patents, technical drawings, specifications and much more that has survived to the present day. All of this is housed in corporate museums across Italia that preserve this nostalgic record of ‘Made in Italy’, which in 2025 were visited by around 5.4 million people, 42% of whom were from abroad. A significant proportion of tourists have chosen this route and the experiences offered by industrial tourism, a sector that helps to combat seasonal fluctuations, often in lesser-known destinations, and generates a turnover of one billion euros, according to data from the Museimpresa Observatory prepared by Nomisma to highlight the potential of corporate museums and archives, as well as industrial archaeological sites.

“The data from the Industrial Tourism Observatory show a rapidly growing sector, with over 5 million visitors by 2025 and a total economic impact of €1 billion on the national economy, with widespread benefits for numerous production and employment sectors ,” said Antonio Calabrò, president of Museimpresa, an association representing over 160 companies of all sizes with a museum. “These figures clearly demonstrate the economic, social and cultural value of corporate museums and archives and show that industrial tourism is no longer a niche phenomenon. It confirms that Italia’s industrial heritage represents a strategic asset for regional development, capable of bringing together memory, innovation and tourist appeal, making a tangible contribution to the country’s competitiveness and growth.”

According to Nomisma’s analysis, 5.4 million people visited industrial tourism sites in Italia in 2025, 42% of whom were foreign visitors. The expenditure generated by these visitors – including admission fees, ancillary activities, catering, transport and shopping – produced a direct economic impact of €383 million. Taking into account the indirect and induced effects across the relevant economic sectors, industrial tourism generates a total value of €1 billion for the Italian economy, with an economic multiplier of 2.6: every euro spent by visitors generates €2.60 in benefits for the national economy.

“The impact analysis carried out for Museimpresa reveals the surprising economic multiplier effect of industrial tourism: every euro spent by Italian and foreign visitors to corporate museums and archives generates a total of 2.6 euros for the national economy,” notes Emanuele Di Faustino, Head of Industry, Retail and Services at Nomisma. This proves that we are not merely dealing with places dedicated to the preservation and promotion of Italian excellence, but with genuine catalysts for the supply chain that sustain a wide range of sectors – from culture to hospitality, from transport to retail – generating over 8,000 jobs across the entire peninsula.”

The Museimpresa General Assembly was held at the Gazometro in Rome, providing an opportunity to highlight the cultural and symbolic significance of sites representing the country’s contemporary industrial heritage. The choice of the Gazometro in Rome as the venue for the meeting highlighted the potential of spaces historically linked to industrial production to become environments dedicated to innovation, cultural dialogue and the promotion of the country’s industrial heritage. “We are delighted to host the Museimpresa General Assembly at Eni, an important opportunity for organisations sharing a commitment to promoting corporate culture to meet and exchange ideas. Corporate museums and archives are, in fact, places of knowledge, dialogue and participation, capable of recounting the deep bond between businesses, people and territories,” said Lucia Nardi, Head of Corporate Culture at Eni and Vice-President of Museimpresa.