Italy’s Tourism Industry Remains Challenged, Regardless of the Positive Outcome in 2022
Tourism, one of the main industries in Italy, has been witnessing 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 for the sector, Istat, the Italian office for statistics, revealed that during the period between January and August of 2022, the number of overnight stays recorded in Italian accommodation spots was up by 74.7 per cent compared to 2021, SchengenVisaInfo.com reports.
Luciano Serra, the vice president of Confturismo-Confcommercio, said that Italy, unfortunately, tourism is and remains undefined as, since 2012, there is no national definition of which businesses, activities, and tourism professions are related to the industry.
“The first thing to do by sitting at the table of the Strategic Plan of Tourism 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 is shared by the Ministry and the Regions: and this must be fixed list with a national standard,” he said.
The country is a favourite for international tourists, especially for those who enjoy recreational trips. According to research by Confcommercio and Istituto Piepoli, Italy is the main destination for trips taken for pleasure trips, with interests in the spa and wellness sector being particularly attractive. Moreover, Rome is one of the most visited destinations.
Italian campsites and tourist villages witnessed a total of 10.5 million tourists in 2022, up by 11 per cent compared to the previous year, totalling 73 million nights spent – 57 per cent of which were international tourists.
Tourists from Germany, Austria, Switzerland, the Netherlands, and Denmark represented 75 per cent of all arrivals, while the duration of nights spent in the country increased from 6.8 days to approximately seven.
Moreover, the European Office for Statistics, Eurostat, has recently revealed that Italy and France received the most overnight stays in Europe. More specifically, there were a total of 28.1 million beds available in 2021, distributed in 597,000 accommodation spots for tourists.
About 5.1 million beds places, or one-third of all available beds, were recorded in Italy and France, representing the largest share in the EU, while Spain followed close with a total of 3.8 million beds available, consisting of 13 per cent of the total. Germany was ranked fourth with 3.5 million beds, followed by the Netherlands (five per cent), Croatia, Austria, and Greece (four per cent each), and Sweden, Poland, and Czechia (three per cent).
