Tourism, 13 million arrivals in Lombardy in the first eight months of 2024

(Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor) - The presence of tourists in Lombardy continues to grow. In the first 8 months of 2024 there were over 13 million arrivals in the area, with 37 million presences, an increase of 11% compared to the January-August 2023 period. This is a tourism that confirms itself as high-spending, with figures well above the national average, driven by Milan and the Lake District. This is what emerged during the event 'Identikit of the tourist in Lombardy: scenarios of today and tomorrow', organised by the Lombardy Region and Unioncamere Lombardia. In detail, the data collected by the Lombardy Region highlights the high influx of international tourists, with a peak during the summer season. In several areas of the region, including Milan, the Province of the Lakes and the provinces of Sondrio and Bergamo, there is a prevalence of foreign visitors over Italian ones. The analysis shows a clear predominance of European tourists, who make up almost 75% of the total, followed by Asians (9%) and North Americans (8%). The main countries of origin are Germany, with 21% of flows, and the United States, which contributes 7%, although with very different average stays.

Average spending is also on the rise compared to 2023. Lombardy qualifies as the region with the highest percentage of tourists with a good budget: 32% spend more than 120 euros per day (excluding travel and accommodation), compared to 26% of the national average, and four out of five are professionals who choose to invest in exclusive trips. In terms of the type of trip chosen, according to the survey carried out by Isnart - the National Institute for Tourism Research, with data from the Observatory on the Economics of Tourism of the Chambers of Commerce, demand is increasingly moving towards quality tourism. Visitors are attracted by cultural and natural heritage (37.9% and 21.6% respectively), followed by sports (13.2%) and food and wine experiences (12.6%), which enrich an offer designed to meet the needs of sophisticated travellers. Among foreign tourists, a trip to the lake is the favourite activity (35.9%), while Italians prefer visiting museums and exhibitions (30.1%). As far as the choice of destinations is concerned, the big cities remain a centre of attraction (with an attendance of 27.4%), but the flow of tourists also extends to other areas, including villages (46.2%) and historical centres (42.8%), responding to an increasingly diversified and aware tourism.

According to an analysis carried out by Mastercard on tourist spending, moreover, Lombardy is Italy's leading region in terms of volume, accounting for 18% of the overall share at national level and with a growth rate of +16% compared to 2023. Lombardy also counts primates on the Tax Free Shopping front. According to Global Blue, in fact, it stands out as the Italian region with the highest Tax Free spending: it contributes to 40% of national volumes and has recorded a growth in Tax Free spending of 11% compared to the same period of the previous year, a rate significantly higher than the national average (+8%). The average receipt is also higher than the rest of the country. Como and Varese are the two areas that attract the most international shoppers outside Milan, the first city for purchases at national level.

"It was my specific desire to build an efficient and cutting-edge Regional Tourism Observatory for the Lombardy Region that allows us to have first-hand data on tourist flows, both in qualitative and quantitative terms," explained Barbara Mazzali, Councillor for Tourism, Territorial Marketing and Fashion of the Lombardy Region. "The sharing and analysis of data is the pillar on which the new 'data-driven' tourism governance of the Lombardy Region rests, aimed at orienting our policies for the years to come, so as to make them increasingly responsive to the tastes and attitudes of our 'typical traveller'. Thanks to this knowledge, we are now able to draw an identikit of the tourist who chooses Lombardy to spend his or her holidays characterised by an increasingly international profile," Mazzali added.