Tourism, one of the main industries in Italy, has recorded positive results and recovered in recent months after almost two years of inactivity due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, there are long-term issues that remain a challenge for Italians and the industry.
During the first national conference of the sector, Istat, the Italian statistical office, revealed that between January and August 2022 the number of overnight stays recorded in Italian accommodation places increased by 74.7% compared to compared to 2021, SchengenVisaInfo.com reports.
Luciano Serra, vice-president of Confturismo-Confcommercio, said that in Italy, unfortunately, tourism is and remains undefined because, since 2012, there is no national definition of tourism companies, activities and professions related to the industry.
“The first thing to do when sitting down at the table of the Strategic Tourism Plan or – he continued – is therefore to urgently define a list at least of tourism businesses and professions that responds to the reality of the market and which is shared by the Department. and the Regions: and this must be a fixed list with a national standard”, he said.
The country is a favorite for international tourists, especially those who enjoy recreational travel. According to research by Confcommercio and Istituto Piepoli, Italy is the top destination for leisure travel, with interest in the spa and wellness sector being particularly attractive. Moreover, Rome is one of the most visited destinations.
Italian campsites and tourist villages welcomed a total of 10.5 million tourists in 2022, up 11% on the previous year, totaling 73 million overnight stays, of which 57% were international tourists.
Tourists from Germany, Austria, Switzerland, the Netherlands and Denmark accounted for 75% of all arrivals, while the length of nights spent in the country fell from 6.8 days to around seven .
In addition, the European statistics office, Eurostat, recently revealed that Italy and France received the most overnight stays in Europe. Specifically, there were a total of 28.1 million beds available in 2021, spread across 597,000 tourist accommodation locations.
Around 5.1 million bed places, or a third of all available beds, were registered in Italy and France, representing the largest share in the EU, while Spain followed closely with a total of 3.8 million beds available, or 13% of the total. Germany ranks fourth with 3.5 million beds, followed by the Netherlands (5%), Croatia, Austria and Greece (4% each), and Sweden, Poland and Czechia (3%).
Comments are closed.