Tourism in Italy: record presences and arrivals in 2023, foreigners on the rise
Italian tourism reached and surpassed pre-Covid numbers in 2023, with over 134 million arrivals and 451 million presences. Foreigners again become the predominant share of travellers
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Key points
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The recovery to pre-Covid levels can be said to be complete: in 2023 the Italian tourism reached and surpassed the numbers of 2019 (the last year not affected by the global pandemic) in terms of arrivals and presences. The sector has now fully resumed its role as a driving force for the Italian economy, and the first months of 2024 in addition to the summer forecasts indicate that the race is continuing. The more than 134 million arrivals (+2.3% compared to pre-pandemic values) and 451 million of presences in accommodation establishments (+3.3% compared to pre-pandemic values) last year represent an absolute historical record. These results were also possible thanks to the leap forward over the last year: compared to 2022, the growth in arrivals was 13.4% and that in presences 9.5%.
This is certified by Istat and the Ministry of Tourism in the first joint survey in which the statistics institute's data have been integrated with those of the 'Alloggiati web' portal (the data transmitted by accommodation facility managers). Numbers from which other significant trends emerge, such as the more pronounced growth of the non-hotel sector compared to the traditional hotel sector and the return of foreigners as the prevailing share of travellers.
Primary growth for Lazio and Lombardy
.Looking at the territorial distribution, the region with the highest number of presences last year was Veneto (15.9% of the total), followed by Trentino-Alto Adige (12.4%), Tuscany, Lombardy and Lazio (all slightly over 10%). The first region in the South of Italy is Campania, with 4.5% of the national presences (just over 20 million presences).
Lazio (+25.3%), Lombardy (+16.8%) and Sicilia (+13.9%), on the other hand, are the regions with the largest increase in presences both compared to 2022 and in comparison with the pre-pandemic values (10% higher than the national average of 3.3%. Numbers, Istat and the Ministry of Tourism emphasise, "partly determined by the recovery of tourist flows in large cities", starting with Rome and Milan.
More growth in the non-hotel sector
Of the two major types of tourist accommodation in 2023, the extra-hotel : arrivals and presences in bed & breakfast, tourist apartments, room rentals, agritourism, campsites and residences increased by 16.9% and 11% respectively. The hotel sector, on the other hand, recorded slightly smaller increases; arrivals rose by 11.5% and presences by 8.1%.
