Tendenze del mercato

🏖 Massimo Diana, Commercial Director of Ota Viaggi, addresses tourism sector challenges in early 2025, noting over 65% of domestic flights are run by low-cost carriers, complicating tour operators' planning. Tourism market growth is moderate due to high prices and inflation, yet regions like Calabria see positive signs from new investments. Sector faces personnel shortage, requiring targeted training and youth appeal. Ota Viaggi focuses on destination optimization and collaboration among institutions, companies, and operators for affordable quality.

🚀 Wizz Air celebrates 20 million passengers at Rome Fiumicino Airport. Tamara Nikiforova, senior manager of communications, proud of milestone reflecting trust and success in Italy's expansion. Claudio Faustini, head of route development at Aeroporti di Roma, emphasizes significance beyond numbers, noting role in expanding Rome's network. In 2024, Wizz Air operated 300,000 flights, over 90,000 in Italy, 30,000+ from Fiumicino with a 38% growth from 2023. Nationally, a 15% increase to 18.5 million passengers in Italy. Rome is Wizz Air's largest base in Italy; new Training Center opened near Fiumicino on October 1, 2024, for 7,000+ staff. The airline created 600+ jobs in Rome. Popular destinations include London, Madrid, Barcelona, Paris, with new routes to Bilbao and an exclusive direct connection from Rome to Saragozza starting end of March.

🏝 In 2024, Thailand welcomed 268,000 Italian visitors, reaching 98% of the pre-Covid levels of 2019. Marketing manager Sandro Botticelli highlighted the nation's commitment to promoting Thailand as a safe and fascinating destination. New initiatives for 2025 aim to attract more Italian tourists, including targeted promotional campaigns, collaborations with Italian tour operators, and new tourist routes showcasing Thailand's hidden gems.

🗺 Civitatis, in 2024, witnessed growth in Italian tourist activities, with preferences for cities like New York, Lisbon, Paris, Barcelona, Seville, and Krakow internationally, and Naples, Rome, Florence, Palermo, and Genova domestically. Cultural and historical activities such as tours of Naples underground, Auschwitz and Birkenau excursions, guided visits of Marrakech, and evening boat tours in Budapest were top booked experiences. The platform offered over 90,000 activities and served more than 35 million travelers, solidifying its market position.

🏭 In Piemonte, Italy, regional tourism councilor Marina Chiarelli and Confindustria Turismo Piemonte president Laura Zegna established the first Industrial Tourism committee. The initiative aims to map and promote the region's industrial and manufacturing heritage, including companies like Martini, Lavazza, Borsalino, Gorgonzola, Gancia, and aerospace firms, integrating them into thematic tours coordinated with local tourism agencies. The goal is to combine tradition and innovation to attract global visitors and diversify tourism offerings.

🏖️ In October, Italy's tourism balance of payments surplus stood at €1.9 billion, slightly below that of October 2023. Foreigners spent €4.4 billion in Italy and Italians spent €2.6 billion abroad, both nearly 6% lower year-on-year. Over the three months ending in October 2024, tourism earnings dipped by 0.3% while spending abroad marginally increased by 0.9%. EU countries contributed to a 0.4% decrease in spending by foreign travelers in Italy, whereas Italian spending in EU destinations rose by 5.2%.

🏕️ In 2024, Egypt set a tourism record with 15.7 million visitors, announced by Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly. The country's tourist numbers could have reached 18 million if not for regional events. Tourism plummeted from over 13 million in 2019 to about 3.7 million in 2020 due to COVID-19, then rose to 8 million in 2021, 11.7 million in 2022, and 14.9 million in 2023. The Grand Egyptian Museum's opening in 2025 is expected to boost tourism further.

🚿 TTG Word addresses the overused concept of "experience" in tourism, suggesting a new approach focusing on the tourist. Ten traveler types have been identified, offering unique and extraordinary experiences for each. TTG presents 10 tailored recommendations to satisfy travelers seeking unique vacations. These can be found in TTG World's publication dated 12/12/2024.

🇮🇹 Bain & Company Italia and Toluna released the Italy Holiday Shopping Outlook, showing over 1,000 Italian consumers plan to cut Christmas gift budgets by 36% from 2023, with an average spending of €207, down from €228 last year. High-income earners will spend €504 on average, while lower-income groups €150. Millennials and Boomers have the highest budgets; Gen Z and Gen X are most likely to cut costs. Italian shoppers balance online and in-store purchases. Over two-fifths plan holidays, with 28% traveling abroad, favoring Europe (66%), North America (13%), and Africa (12%). Art cities (46%), mountains (40%), and seaside (17%) are top destinations. Average holiday spending rises to €597, up 10% from last year, mostly on accommodations (55%), restaurants (45%), and entertainment (36%). Rental homes and B&Bs (41%) overtake hotels (38%) as preferred stays.

🏖️ International tourists reached approximately 1.1 billion in the first nine months of 2024, with the global tourism sector recovering 98% of pre-pandemic levels. The Middle East saw a record +29% growth compared to 2019, Europe and Africa surpassed 2019 levels by +1% and +6% respectively, while the Americas recovered 97%. Asia and the Pacific reached 85% of 2019 levels, up from a 66% recovery in 2023. Up to 60 destinations out of 111 exceeded their 2019 arrival numbers in the first eight to nine months of 2024; Qatar, Albania, Saudi Arabia, Curaçao, Tanzania, Colombia, and Andorra witnessed significant increases. Out of 43 countries with available revenue data, 35 exceeded pre-pandemic values, with Serbia and others observing nearly double the earnings. Key spender countries like Germany, the USA, and France showed a spending increase by +35%, +33%, and +11%, with international tourist arrivals expected to match 2019 levels in 2024.