Italy to witness an estimated increase in arrivals by 4 per cent in 2019

Thursday, February 14, 2019

The Federtourismo business association stated that Italy’s tourism industry was in good health considering the annual report by the Research Institute for Innovation and Development Services (IRiSS) which is a division of the National Research Center(CNR) based on the state of tourism.

For the first time in 2017 the international visitors to Italy had outstripped domestic tourist with an arrival of 211 million from overseas as compared to 210 million domestic visitors.

2017 and part of 2018 has been covered by the 22^nd CNR-ISiSS Italian Tourism Report.

As per the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) the international arrivals went up by 5.4 per cent during the first nine months of 2018 after an addition of 6.8 per cent overall in 2017.

IRiSS Director Alfonso Morvillo said that they estimate arrivals to increase by 4 percent in 2019. Italy was chosen by the international visitors for its appeal.

Confindustria Alberghi hotels association president, Giorgio Palmucci, said that Italy is the most desirable destination for global tourists, followed by the U.S. and Australia.

The country’s landscapes, art, wine, food, and the Made-in-Italy brand are the main attractions.

In terms of hospitality there was a positive response too, 425 million hotel  stays were recorded in 2018 that broke 2017’s record as per the ISTAT national statistics institute.

According to the CNR-IRiSS report, visitors stayed on average for 3.6 days in 2018, compared to 2.95 days the previous year

In 2017 the tourist spending generated turnover was108.3 billion euros (122 billion U.S. dollars) this was equal to 7 percent of all added value produced in Italy and  four times the added value generated by the food and agriculture sector . the CNR-IRiSS report said that it was 4.5 times the added value generated by the textile, fashion and apparel sector.

In 2017 the tourism sector contributed 13 percent to Italian gross domestic product (GDP) in 2017.

The overall tourist spending in 2018 was restricted to only five of Italy’s 20 regions located in the country’s central and northern areas.

Farms and Tourism Minister Gian Marco Centinaio that they should lengthen the tourist season, cut tourists taxes and take up the opportunities of digital transformation in a more decisive manner.

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