Laura Alese - Federturismo Confindustria

🏖️ Advance bookings surged to 60% for holiday trips, with an average duration of 8.2 days and an average expenditure of €2,400 per person. Revenue growth of 12% was observed for Christmas and New Year holidays, compared to the previous year. Popular destinations include the Red Sea, East Africa, Southeast Asia, and long-haul locations like the Maldives and China. Optimistic revenue growth predictions for 2025 range between 5-7%. Data was provided by ASTOI Confindustria Viaggi in Rome on December 6, 2024.

🏖️ In 2023, Italian tourism reached a historic high with 133.6 million arrivals and 447.2 million overnight stays, surpassing the 2019 peak of 131.4 million arrivals and 436.7 million overnight stays. Tourism flows increased by 12.8% for arrivals and 8.5% for overnight stays compared to 2022. Foreign tourists represented 52.4% of the demand, with a 23.2% increase in arrivals and 16.5% in overnight stays year-over-year. EU-wide, Italy ranked third in total overnight stays, accounting for 15.2% of the EU's total. However, preliminary 2024 data indicates a slowdown, with a 3.6% decrease in arrivals and 1.4% in overnight stays in the third quarter compared to the same period in 2023.

🛍 Shopping tourism globally declined from $86 billion in 2019 to $72 billion in 2023, a $14 billion loss according to Kearney for the Tax Free World Association, using IATA and Generation Research data. A 16% drop in average spending per passenger was noted, with perfume and beauty product sales plummeting by 31%, despite being the favorite category among airport big spenders. Wine and spirits sales decreased by 14%. High prices deterred 36% of shoppers, particularly younger buyers. However, 2023 shows a trend reversal, with travel retail predicted to reach $117 billion, about €111 billion. In Italy, tax free shopping threshold changes in February could lead to even greater tourism balance benefits. (For more information: https://www.tfwa.com/research/tfwa-insight/tfwa-insight-travel-retails-moment-of-truth-100015543; https://www.kearney.com/; https://www.iata.org/; https://www.generation.se/; https://www.atritalia.it)

💐 Rome is the most searched honeymoon destination with 600 global monthly searches and an average lodging cost of $1,461 for a week-long stay in July for two. Sicily matches Rome's search volume but averages $620 per week. Lake Como and Sardinia rank third with 450 monthly searches, costing on average $1,096 and $766 per week respectively. Tuscany is fourth with 400 searches and a weekly cost of about $820 for two, while Venice is fifth with 300 searches and an average weekly stay of $1,277.

💳 Nielsen's research for American Express surveyed 750+ Italians, finding a 90% increase in digital payment use over cash in the last year. Cashless benefits like credit cards are favored by younger generations, particularly Millennials and Gen Z. Discounts and additional benefits are key for 86% of consumers, rising to 95% among Millennials. Digital payments are preferred for their convenience (57%) and speed (46%). Online card use grew by 34% and in-store by 31%. Gen Z leads this trend, with 56% using cards more frequently online and 38% in-store. Tracking expenses (52%) and making faster payments (51%) are top reasons for choosing cards. For Italian consumers, travel is a priority, with 66% seeking loyalty program benefits. Most prefer digital payments both abroad (52%) and domestically (57%), influencing travel location choices for 71%, especially among Millennials (81%). Exclusive experiences and discounts are valued by 91% of consumers, with 83% enrolled or planning to enroll in related loyalty programs. Price (64%) and discounts (59%) are key factors in retail choice, influencing loyalty for 60% of consumers.