Thanks to foreigners record attendance in hotels in 2024

It is the image of an industry that changes its skin, knows how to evolve according to demand, and manages to set record after record. In 2024, hotel stays in Italy totalled 283.5 million, a +3% increase over 2023 and a growth of nine-tenths of a point over 2019, the record year for the sector before Covid. Arrivals exceeded 89 million with an average stay of 3.2 days. Analysing this data in more detail, the strong growth in arrivals from abroad emerges with +7.1% over 2023 and +6.1% over 2019. Inflation, loss of purchasing power and geopolitics, on the other hand, cause the share of Italian presences to drop by 1.2% on 2023 and -4.2% on 2019. Moreover, in the first quarter of 2025, hotel stays were close to 44.5 million, down -1.8% compared to the same period last year. These are some of the data, processed by Federalberghi and Tecnè, presented by Bernabò Bocca, president of the Association on the first day of the 75th national assembly in Merano.

There is a slight drop in arrivals in hotels compared to 2019, but the number of overnight stays is on the rise, a sign of customers, particularly foreign ones, staying longer on average. In 2024, the expenditure of foreign tourists in Italy was 54.2 billion, an increase of 4.9% compared to 2023. At the same time, there was an increase in the number of foreign travellers at the border (+3.4%) from 85.7 to 88.6 million and a decrease in overnight stays (-1.0%). In the first two months of 2025, spending by those coming from across the border amounted to 5.5 billion: an increase of 6.2% compared to 5.2 billion in the same period last year. In fact, tourists arriving from abroad in the first two months of 2025 spent 5.5 billion, +6.2% compared to the same period last year.

The offer includes 32,194 hotels with more than one million rooms and around 2.3 million beds. An offer that over the years continues along the path of qualitative growth. Investments in facilities are focused on the construction of 4- and 5-star hotels: in 2000 they represented 8.5% of the hotel offer, in 2023 they will reach 22%. 3-star hotels and tourist hotel residences took the lead as the most representative category, rising from 42.2% to 55.2%.

"We are facing a scenario that invites us to do great things," continues Bernabò Bocca, "After the pandemic years that hit the sector hard, we are back to pre-covid levels. The sector is confirmed as a fundamental economic infrastructure for the country. Our fellow citizens are showing a preference for hotels, especially those with a focus on sustainability. The hope is that they can represent an ever-increasing critical mass. I can proudly say that Italian hospitality marries modernity: we have adapted quickly to current trends, without taking anything for granted and working on the quality of the offer, upgrading our facilities according to the canons of the green era". Sustainability has become a factor that guides the choice of Italians when they go on holiday: 12.7% prefer a certified structure and 38.8% prefer hotels that adopt sustainable practices. The same is true for the role of social media in influencing the choice of where to spend their holidays: one Italian in two says they are very or fairly influenced. Similarly, about 75% look at reviews before choosing a destination.

"Today, those who choose a hotel are looking for an emotion, an experience, no longer simply a place to stay," adds the president of Federalberghi. "We are called upon to use our inventiveness and entrepreneurial skills to respond in real time to a changing tourism. Our survey shows how social media have become decisive in the choice of travel destination. Special attention must be given to this trend, providing highly competent responses and focusing on the training of specialised professionals. Despite the good results, one cannot work alone. In our sector it is very important to network but also to have the necessary support so that the offer can be attractive to the full. In this respect,' Bocca concluded, 'we are still lacking in terms of infrastructure: tourism lives and expresses itself in the territory. One cannot work miracles if one is not facilitated in the reachability of a destination. I hope that quick and decisive steps forward will be taken on this issue'.