Design pushes Milan into 2025: for the Salone del Mobile induced by 278 million euros

A Tokyo, a New York, la rotta del design passa da Milano. Il Furniture Fairinternational reference forfurniturebring agrowing economywith attendance and investments continuing to rise. Milan, meanwhile, moves fast and remains the most natural home for those who live by design and forms.

At the helm of the event is Maria Porro, a young and authoritative president, who in recent years has accompanied the Show in a phase ofinternational consolidationworking on content, relationships and opening up to new audiences. This is how it growseconomic impact della Milan Design Weekdriven bySalone del Mobile.Milan. There is an increase in visitors, exhibitors and enthusiasts who choose the city as an obligatory stop every spring. And Milan, more and more, takes on the contours of a house of beauty, alive, welcoming, on the move.

The economic impact of the 2025 Show

The Salone 2025 closes with numbers that tell of an intense season. The photograph is in the second edition of the Annual Report (Eco) Sistema Design Milano, which measures thereal weight of the event on the urban economyand on the international dynamics of the city. The first signal comes from the armature. THE’economic impactgenerated by the week of the Show is estimated at278 millionapproximately 15% more than in 2023, with thedigital spendingwhich reaches its annual peak at +18%. These are encompassing figureshospitalitycatering,mobilityservices and widespread consumption.

Tourist flows and attendance records

They registered in the week of April in Milan136,157 arrivals80.2% from abroad. Overnight stays exceeded 412,500 in the city and 543,565 in the province, with the average stay rising to 3.03 nights. The effects can also be seen in the rates: in the five star hotels the minimums increase up to 88.7%, while in some categories the maximum peaks exceed 100% compared to weeks not affected by the event. Even themobilitymarks record volumes. Malpensa, Linate and Bergamo score+5.3% passengers; the metro records 1,320,965 average daily admissions, the highest value of the year, equal to+39,6%on average. Car access increases in Area C (city center) by 45.5%, while insharing mobilityscooters fly to+73,2%on the weekly average. The 2025 analysis also introduces mobile network data developed with Fastweb and Vodafone, which allow us to read thereal presences in the neighborhoods. Brera grows by 51.9%, Porta Genova by 41.3%, Parco Sempione by 25.4%, while the NIL Duomo exceeds 3.5 million weekly visitors (+19.3%). The core of the public remains between 25 and 59 years old, but the 16-24 age group is also clearly growing.

Milan, the historic home of design

This economic and human movement finds fertile ground in a well-rooted tradition. Milan has becomenatural house of designalso because some of the most influential figures of the twentieth century and the contemporary scene worked here.Gio Pontioriginally from Milan, has built a trait d’union between architecture, furniture, graphics and publishing that still defines a language today.Bruno Munariborn in Milan, has combined art and design with a rigorous lightness that remains very current.Achille Castiglioni e Vico Magistrettiboth Milanese, have signed objects that have becomecollective heritagepresent in homes and museums around the world. Alongside them, a generation of Milanese by adoption who have chosen the city as a professional base: Antonio Citterio, Piero Lissoni, Fabio Novembre, Matteo Thun. A constellation that tells anatural continuitybetween schools, businesses, publishers and the professional community.

The numbers of the Milan design week and the Salone

The exhibition perimeter is placed against this background. The 2025 edition of the Show records302,786 attendancesfrom 160 countries, with a largely prevalent international share. There are 2,103 exhibitors from 37 countries, 259 of whom are participating for the first time or returning. The interactions ofmatchmakingamong companies and professionals they exceed 1.3 million. In the last two years the public ofstudentsgrows by 34.2%. The city also follows the same trajectory. ThereMilano Design Week 2025 conta 1,667 events+25.7% compared to 2024. Duomo and Brera concentrate 53% of the events observed, with peaks of 138 and 157 events per km compared to a city average of 6. Almost half (47%) take place in showrooms and commercial spaces, while 37% find a home in museums, foundations, universities, galleries, historic buildings and former industrial areas. Of note are 257 extraordinary openings of places normally not accessible, including professional studios and historic locations.

The Milan design system and the cultural dimension

Alongside the event, the Report observes theMilan Design System. They operate between the city and the province7,360 subjectsamong businesses and design professionals, +8.4% compared to the last survey. There are 2,333 specialized companies, +70.5% since 2009. Supporting the system is atraining chainof 42 institutions including schools and universities, with over 17,000 students enrolled. In 2025 the Show also strengthened its owncultural dimensionwith four major projects (La dolce expectation by Paolo Sorrentino, Mother by Robert Wilson, Library of Light by Es Devlin and Villa Héritage by Pierre-Yves Rochon) and a program of talks and forums that expanded theinternational comparison. On the foreign front, the year saw over ten initiatives and a new alliance withArt Baselwhile the incoming delegations involved 27 countries with the support of MAECI and ICE. 2025 thus delivers the image of a city and a sector in constant movement. Milan confirms its role ascapital of designthrough numbers, projects and a professional community that continues to regenerate. The Salone del Mobile enters 2026 with this legacy: a platform that holds togethereconomic growthcultural production and a network of protagonists who, from here, continue to speak to the world.