Italian Tourism in the Age of Globalization

Abstract

This chapter provides an appraisal of the Italian tourism industry for both European and extra-EU tourists. From a first analysis of tourism flows, measured in terms of arrivals of tourists at the border, it would seem that tourism in Italy has been steadily declining in recent years. However, when looking at Eurostat data of international tourist arrivals at hotels and other accommodation establishments, Italy’s competitiveness begins to shine. Eurostat data on international tourist arrivals, rank Italy as the second major tourist destination, right after Spain. The data of tourists at the border is not necessarily indicative, since in some countries, the number of tourist arrivals at the border is influenced by the presence of large airport hubs, which register considerable amounts of tourist arrivals who, however, then transit elsewhere. When considering overnight stays by extra-EU tourists, on the other hand, Italy is the undisputed Eurozone leader and the preferred destination of Japanese, Chinese, American, Australian, Canadian and Brazilian tourists. The chapter also provides a territorial analysis highlighting how specified regions and provinces could by themselves rank in the top half of the EU classification of foreign tourist nights in a member country, if the classification were to include them. It is undeniable that the Italian tourism industry must progress in competitiveness and quality of service to face new global challenges. Nonetheless, it is also true that in these last few years, Italy has shown great resilience in transforming and adapting to the new and constantly increasing demands, both in numbers and types of requests, of foreign tourists. The tourism industry is, in fact, in the process of disproving many negative presumptions attributed to it.