‘Boom’ in tourists in Italy in 2023. Veneto and Rome are first in terms of attendance

In 2023, tourism in Italy, with 133.6 million arrivals and 447.2 million presences registered in accommodation establishments, has not only left the dark years of the pandemic behind but reached a new historical record, surpassing the previous absolute peak reached in 2019, with 131.4 million arrivals and 436.7 million presences. Istat finds it. Compared to 2022, tourist flows increased by 12.8% in terms of arrivals (+15.1 million people registered in accommodation establishments) and by 8.5% in terms of presences (+35.2 million overnight stays) .

Last year, then, was marked by strong recovery of the foreign component of tourism, which in terms of attendance once again represented over half of the demand (52.4% of the total). The presence of foreign customers amounted to 234.2 million, compared to 213 million presences of tourists resident in Italy. Not only that, but in 2023 the number of nights spent by tourists in EU accommodation facilities exceeded 2.9 billion and increased by 6.8% compared to 2022.

If tourism has returned to expanding its activity in Europe after the pandemic crisis, in Italy it has grown more than the EU average (+8.5% in presences compared to 2022 against +6.8% of the EU27 average), bringing our country in third place in the ranking of European partners in terms of total attendance. In fact, presences in Italian hospitality establishments represent 15.2% of the EU27 total and are lower only than those of Spain (485 million presences) and France (460 million presences). Considering exclusively the foreign component, Italy, with 234.2 million, is second only to Spain, which exceeds 300 million foreign customer presences.

Tourist flows, both of Italian and foreign customers, are mainly concentrated in the summer months: in the period between June and September 2023, accommodation establishments hosted approximately 262 million visitors, equal to 58.6% of presences for the entire year. In the same months, 60.3% of the annual presences of resident customers (equal to 128.5 million) and 57% of the annual presences of foreign tourists (133.4 million) were concentrated. Foreign demand is therefore only slightly less characterized by seasonal concentration phenomena and, in particular, expresses a significant amount of attendance also in the months of May and October: approximately 41.6 million attendances in these two months compared to 21.5 million attendances by resident customers.

Last year, the concentration of presences in the summer period practically returned to the levels recorded in 2019 (59.5% of total annual presences in the four-month period in question and, respectively, 58.0% and 61.1% of those relating to the inbound component and to the domestic one). In the three-year period 2020-2022, this concentration had instead reached higher peaks, exceeding shares of 70.0% in 2021 for both customer components, as a consequence of the effects linked to the Covid-2019 pandemic.

With 176.2 million visitors, equal to over a third (39.4%) of the national total, the North-east is also confirmed as the Italian geographical area preferred by tourists in 2023both Italian (76 million domestic presences, equal to 35.7% of the total presences of resident customers), but even more foreign (over 100 million presences of non-residents, equal to 42.8% of the total foreign presences ). The Center is in second place: the accommodation establishments in this division recorded approximately 109 million visitors, equal to 24.3% of the national total. Compared to 2022, tourist flows grow in all areas, but the highest values ​​and above the national average (+8.5%) are in the Center and the South (+14.2% and +10.6% respectively) . The favorite region for tourists is Veneto (around 72 million tourist presences), followed by Trentino-Alto Adige, with the autonomous province of Bolzano/Bozen (36.1 million presences) and the autonomous province of Trento (19.1 million presences), Tuscany, from Lazio and Lombardy (all over 40 million tourist presences).

Also in 2023 Rome confirms itself as the main destination for tourist flows in Italy. With approximately 37.3 million visitors, which represent 8.3% of the national total (5.2% of resident customers and 11.2% of non-resident customers), the Capital has recovered and widely exceeded the values ​​recorded in the 2019 (+6.3 million presences, equivalent to a change of 20.3%). In second place in terms of number of visitors is Venice (with 12.6 million visitors), followed by Milan (around 12.5 million). Florence is the fourth most visited municipality in Italy with over 8.9 million visitors. Among the top 10 Italian municipalities by presence, four are located near Venice and its lagoon: Cavallino-Treporti, Jesolo, San Michele al Tagliamento and Caorle.