II.

OECD COUNTRIES PROFILES – ITALY

Italy

Tourism in the economy

Data for 2014 shows a steady and positive tourism trend in Italy. International travel
receipts grew at a stronger pace (3.6%) than Italian exports in general (2%), rising from
EUR 33.1 billion in 2013 to EUR 34.2 billion in 2014, and confirming the leading role of
tourism in the Italian economy. From a medium-term perspective, international travel
expenditure has also demonstrated steady growth (from 33% of total tourism expenditure
in 2007 to 39.6% in 2014).
Expenditure by Italian outbound tourists increased from EUR 20.3 billion in 2013 to
EUR 21.7 billion in 2014. Italy’s balance of tourism payments therefore remains positive
albeit slightly lower than for 2013.
Total tourism expenditure in Italy amounted to EUR 86.6 billion in 2014, which
represented 9.8% of the nation’s domestic consumption and generated an added value of
EUR 94.8 billion (6.5 % of overall value added) – supporting 3 million jobs (12.4 % of total
national employment).
Italy’s tourism industry is set to earn an estimated EUR 18.3 billion in 2015. The
number of holidaymaking Italians is expected to increase by 8.6% on 2014, with the
majority visiting the south of the country. The number of international visitors to Italy is
also anticipated to rise by 3.6% compared with 2014.

Tourism governance and funding

The legislative framework for tourism in Italy involves the Ministry of Cultural
Heritage, Activities and Tourism, the Permanent Conference for Relations between the
State, Regions and Autonomous Provinces of Trento and Bolzano and the Joint Conference
of Regions and Municipalities.
While the Directorate-General (DG) for Tourism in the Ministry of Cultural Heritage,
Activities and Tourism sets the strategic policy agenda, the Italian Constitution devolves
several key activities to the regions, including regulating tourism businesses, developing
strategic marketing activities and managing European Structural Funds. Provinces and
municipalities can also issue local regulations for the tourism sector. In 2014, the Minister
established a Permanent Committee for the Promotion of Tourism in Italy, tasked with
drafting a five-year National Tourism Plan. The Committee is composed of private and
public entities.
The DG for Tourism develops and launches national tourism policies in co-ordination
with regions and autonomous provinces. It is the supervisory authority for the National
Italian Tourism Agency (ENIT), the Italian Automobile Club and the Italian Alpine Club. The
DG for Tourism also manages all tourism activities that fall outside the competence of the

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regions. It provides aid and incentives to develop tourism demand, delivers certifications and
authorisations to foreign professionals, manages relations with international organisations
and participates in the development and adoption of European Union legislation.
The role of ENIT is to market and promote Italy as a tourist destination. As of April
2015, ENIT has a new statute, which transformed it from a public body into a public
economic entity under the supervision of the Minister of Cultural Heritage, Activities and
Tourism. ENIT may also enter into agreements with the regions and autonomous
provinces, local authorities and other public bodies. The Board of Directors includes two
members appointed by the Minister.

Italy: Organisational chart of the tourism bodies

Ministry of Cultural Heritage, Standing Committee for the
Activities and Tourism Promotion of Tourism in Italy

National Tourism Agency Directorate General for Italian Alpine Club

(ENIT) Tourism Italian Automobile Club

National Tourism Observatory

Administration and Operations Tourism Policies

Source: OECD, adapted from the Ministry of Cultural Heritage, Activities and Tourism, 2016.

The DG for Tourism’s budget in 2015 was EUR 30 million. Tourism stands to benefit
from the Culture and Innovation 2014-20 programme financed by the European Union
Structural Funds. From a total budgetary envelope of EUR 490 million, a large proportion is
allocated to the development of 60 cultural attractors in five southern regions: Campania,
Puglia, Basilicata, Calabria and Sicilia. The big cultural attractors include potentially
interesting regional heritage sites which, suitably supported and promoted, could help
diversify the regional tourism flow.
A government-controlled Tourism Investment Fund was launched in 2014 with the
mission to invest in the Italian tourism industry in primary locations. The fund operates as
a bridge between public assets in need of development and the private real estate market.

Tourism policies and programmes

In recent years, the Ministry has developed policies to strengthen the relationship
between tourism and culture: the major drivers of Italian destinations’ attractiveness and
competitiveness.
A policy challenge and priority in Italy is the distribution of tourism across the country.
Two thirds (67%) of the wealth produced by tourism comes from five Italian regions:
Latium, Lombardy, Veneto, Emilia-Romagna, and Tuscany. The south of Italy contributes
18% of the tourism wealth.
While Rome, Venice, Florence and Naples attract large numbers of tourists, often
causing congestion, cultural heritage sites elsewhere in the country attract fewer
international tourists and are located in areas difficult to access by public transport. Italy
has to optimise these cultural heritage assets and work more closely with its stakeholders
to identify common policy objectives and develop more efficient and sustainable mobility.

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 II. OECD COUNTRIES PROFILES – ITALY

In policy terms, Italy will support the development of sustainable tourism by

promoting new cultural attractors and by encouraging tourism enterprises to upgrade their
services and adapt to the changing needs of travellers. Recent legislation has established
measures for the protection and restoration of cultural heritage, the development of Italian
culture and the re-launching of tourism. To further help tourism businesses to stay
competitive, the Ministry published the Law decree No. 83 of May 31, 2014, the so-called “Art
Bonus Decree” which provided for urgent measures and incentives to help fund the
restoration of public cultural patrimony, including digital tourism activities. It included a
tax credit measure to support the restoration and upgrading of tourism structures to create
more efficient and sustainable buildings as well as a tax credit to support digital tourism
activities.
In April 2014, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism launched a strategy to help bridge
the digital divide within the Italian tourism industry. It consisted of three key interventions.
These included the launch of a think-tank namely the Laboratory for Digital Tourism with
the aim of developing a digital strategy for the tourism sector together with key
stakeholders; setting up a tax credit measure for supporting investments in digital tourism;
and development by ENIT of national digital communication and marketing plans to
promote Italian tourism (Box 1.13).
The Ministry is also focussed on improving intermodal transport and fostering
tourism projects prioritising new cultural routes including bike tourism as well as other
types of slow, experiential and local tourism. Measures to improve transport and mobility
in the southern regions include the development of a national plan for tourism mobility as
part of the Art Bonus Decree. An ad hoc committee with members from the Ministry of
Culture and Tourism and Ministry of Transport has been set up recently for that purpose.
The Ministry of Culture and Tourism has also recently joined the Board of the Italian State
Railways Foundation to contribute to promoting heritage railways.
Furthermore, in 2015, in order to increase the attractiveness of Italy as tourist
destination, the Government approved the National Airports Plan. The Plan establishes the
Government’s investment strategy for its national airports, pinpointing 11 airports of
strategic interest and a further 26 of national interest. The Plan also calls for additional
measures including expansion strategies for airport infrastructure and intermodal
accessibility.

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II. OECD COUNTRIES PROFILES – ITALY

Statistical profile

Table 1. Italy: Domestic, inbound and outbound tourism

2010 2011 2012 2013 2014
TOURISM FLOWS, THOUSAND
Domestic tourism
Total domestic trips .. .. .. .. 126 515
Overnight visitors (tourists) 80 597 67 059 61 594 49 809 50 155
Same-day visitors (excursionists) .. .. .. .. 76 359
Nights in all types of accommodation 521 179 469 887 450 088 391 852 373 653 p
Hotels and similar establishments 139 547 139 897 132 910 128 429 127 812 p
Specialised establishments .. .. .. .. ..
Other collective establishments 70 793 70 524 67 207 63 563 63 492 p
Private accommodation 310 839 259 466 249 971 199 860 182 349 p
Inbound tourism
Total international arrivals 73 225 75 866 76 293 76 762 77 694
Overnight visitors (tourists) 29 599 29 747 29 933 29 058 29 118
Same-day visitors (excursionists) 43 626 46 119 46 360 47 704 48 576
Top markets
Switzerland 13 297 13 565 13 145 12 985 13 412
France 9 976 10 165 10 246 10 361 11 260
Germany 10 857 11 682 11 679 10 971 10 675
Austria 7 660 6 503 6 930 6 607 6 584
United Kingdom 3 348 3 480 3 647 3 639 3 972
Nights in all types of accommodation 303 260 320 813 321 918 317 963 322 696
Hotels and similar establishments 118 989 131 530 132 978 138 119 141 331
Specialised establishments .. .. .. .. ..
Other collective establishments 18 088 17 389 18 793 20 359 22 126
Private accommodation .. .. .. .. ..
Outbound tourism
Total international departures 55 304 52 617 53 338 52 633 55 169
Overnight visitors (tourists) 27 117 24 786 25 963 26 328 28 307
Same-day visitors (excursionists) 28 188 27 831 27 376 26 305 26 862
Top destinations
France 5 471 5 014 5 325 4 796 5 281
Spain 2 496 2 809 2 479 2 201 2 312
Germany 2 368 2 226 2 324 2 071 2 146
Switzerland 1 822 1 779 1 880 1 581 1 706
United Kingdom 1 162 1 332 1 441 1 425 1 423
TOURISM RECEIPTS AND EXPENDITURE, MILLION EUR
Inbound tourism
Total international receipts 30 485 32 411 33 678 34 839 35 963
International travel receipts 29 257 30 891 32 056 33 063 34 240
International passenger transport receipts 1 228 1 520 1 622 1 776 1 723
Outbound tourism
Total international expenditure 25 072 25 601 25 624 25 251 26 781
International travel expenditure 20 416 20 583 20 511 20 309 21 713
International passenger transport expenditure 4 656 5 018 5 113 4 942 5 068
.. Not available; p Provisional data
Disclaimer: http://oe.cd/disclaimer

Source: OECD Tourism Statistics (Database).

1 2 http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/888933320139

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 II. OECD COUNTRIES PROFILES – ITALY

Table 2. Italy: Enterprises and employment in tourism

Number of
Number of persons employed
establishments
2014 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014
Total .. .. .. .. .. ..
Tourism industries .. 2 019 687 .. .. .. ..
Accommodation services for visitors 158 412 516 875 .. .. .. ..
Hotels and similar establishments 33 290 375 216 .. .. .. ..
Food and beverage serving industry .. 988 024 .. .. .. ..
Passenger transport .. 192 613 .. .. .. ..
Air passenger transport .. 17 366 .. .. .. ..
Railways passenger transport .. 43 389 .. .. .. ..
Road passenger transport .. 116 191 .. .. .. ..
Water passenger transport .. 15 667 .. .. .. ..
Passenger transport supporting services .. .. .. .. .. ..
Transport equipment rental .. 21 435 .. .. .. ..
Travel agencies and other reservation services
.. 44 106 .. .. .. ..
industry
Cultural industry .. 148 353 .. .. .. ..
Sports and recreation industry .. 108 281 .. .. .. ..
Retail trade of country-specific tourism
.. .. .. .. .. ..
characteristic goods
Other country-specific tourism industries .. .. .. .. .. ..
Other industries .. .. .. .. .. ..
.. Not available
Disclaimer: http://oe.cd/disclaimer

Source: OECD Tourism Statistics (Database).

1 2 http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/888933320142

Table 3. Italy: Internal tourism consumption

Million EUR

2010
Domestic tourism consumption Inbound tourism consumption Internal tourism consumption
Total .. .. ..
Consumption products .. .. ..
Tourism characteristic products 83 176 29 403 112 580
Accommodation services for visitors 36 275 12 180 48 454
Food and beverage serving services 10 346 6 554 16 899
Passenger transport services 13 166 2 127 15 293
Air passenger transport services 6 648 1 138 7 786
Railways passenger transport services 2 213 216 2 428
Road passenger transport services 2 428 732 3 160
Water passenger transport services 1 877 42 1 919
Passenger transport supporting services .. .. ..
Transport equipment rental services 679 204 883
Travel agencies and other reservation services
6 674 188 6 862
industry
Cultural services 1 256 258 1 513
Sports and recreation services 3 239 896 4 135
Country-specific tourism characteristic goods 11 543 6 997 18 540
Country-specific tourism characteristic services .. .. ..
Other consumption products .. .. ..
Tourism connected products .. .. ..
Non-tourism related consumption products .. .. ..
Non-consumption products .. .. ..
.. Not available
Disclaimer: http://oe.cd/disclaimer

Source: OECD Tourism Statistics (Database).

1 2 http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/888933320152

OECD TOURISM TRENDS AND POLICIES 2016 © OECD 2016 211

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OECD Tourism Trends and Policies 2016

Access the complete publication at:

http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/tour-2016-en

Please cite this chapter as:

OECD (2016), “Italy”, in OECD Tourism Trends and Policies 2016, OECD Publishing, Paris.

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/tour-2016-24-en

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