Italy has been confirmed as one of the most popular holiday destinations for foreign tourists in Europe. Last year a remarkable number of foreign nationals, namely 75 percent of Americans and 88.1 percent of Brazilians cited it as their favorite destination on the Old Continent. Among Europeans, it is the French (74 percent) who visit Italy the most, followed by Germans (70 percent) and Britons (65 percent).
The figure emerges from a study carried out by the Piepoli Institute through Confturismo Confcommercio on a representative sample of American, Brazilian, German, French and British tourists who, before the pandemic, added up to more than 42 percent of arrivals and 50 percent of presences and spending by foreign tourists in Italy.
Foreigners choose Italy because they consider it an “interesting, welcoming and safe” destination. The tourists’ favorites are unsurprisingly, Rome, Florence, Venice, Pisa but also Milan, Naples, and waterside destinations such as Sicily, the Amalfi Coast, Lake Como, and Lake Garda.
Those who have not chosen to make an Italian stop, although planning a trip to Europe, mostly plan to come to Italy in the future, have already been to the Belpaese in the past, or consider it a still-too-expensive destination (especially young people aged 18 to 34).
The strong points indicated by those who have already been to Italy in the past 5 years are food, culture and hospitality, despite the fact that the latter, along with the cost of travel and cultural attractions, also figures among the negative aspects. Elements for improvement also include infrastructure and cleanliness. Foreigners traveled less than in 2019 overall: mainly Brazilians -38%, Germans -31%, British -27, French -22%. The impact of Americans is less at -19%.
Therefore, it is precisely the United States that constitutes the international market most likely to contribute to the Italian touristic recovery.
