ROME (ITALPRESS) – After two years of extraordinary growth, the tourism market is showing signs of stabilizing and slowing down. For the holiday season, about 16.3 million presences are expected in Italian accommodation facilities, a result down -1.5 percent from last year partly due to a reduction in foreign visitors. Two out of three tourists will choose a city of art or a mountain resort, which is also on the rise due to favorable weather for ski slopes. This was estimated by the Florence-based Centro Studi Turistici for Assoturismo Confesercenti, based on a survey administered to a sample of 1,225 accommodation entrepreneurs. Outlook. The picture that emerges is marked by caution. The goal is to match last season’s performance, but the perception of entrepreneurs is that the market is slowing down overall, although industry expectations are for a slight improvement in the trend thanks to last-minute departures. The downturn is expected for both the movement of Italian tourists (-1.9 percent) and flows from abroad (-1 percent), and is perceived both by hotel businesses (-1.3 percent) and especially by those in the non-hotel sector going down (-2.1 percent). Expectations are slightly worse for the Central (-2%) and South-Islands (-1.9%) regions than for the Northeast (-1.4%) and Northwest (-1.1%). On the one hand, it weighs the comparison with an extraordinary Christmas season such as that of 2023, in which attendance exceeded 16.5 million. On the other, the uncertainties of Italian demand – which continues to be measured by a still high price level – and now also international demand continue, with geopolitical tensions and the worsening economy of some euro area countries weighing on foreign presences, which are down for the first time in recent years.Destinations. Mountains and art cities will intercept the largest share of visitor movement. In particular, for ski resorts, the expected trend is for a slight increase in attendance of +0.3 percent (+0.3 percent Italians and +0.4 percent foreigners), but last minute could improve results. The market share of foreign demand is 47.4 percent. The main foreign nationalities include Germany, Switzerland, Scandinavia, the United Kingdom, France and the Netherlands. Also cities, art centers and towns that will intercept a significant share of tourists, especially foreigners, although the estimated trend is -0.9% (-1.7% Italians and -0.2% foreigners). The share of foreign demand is reported at 52% of the total. The predominant nationalities will be Germans, Americans, French, Spanish, British, Swiss, Brazilians, and Canadians. The market composition will be 57 percent Italians – 9.3 million admissions – and the remaining 43 percent foreign tourists (7 million). The international outlook expected for the end-of-year holidays records a growth in arrivals especially from the United States, Switzerland, Poland, Scandinavian countries and South Korea. Slightly down, however, are flows from some European markets: flows from Germany, the United Kingdom, Belgium, Hungary are slowing down, with a more marked reduction for Austria. Stable, however, are Spain, Australia, the Netherlands, Canada, Brazil, and France. Also decreasing, looking outside the EU, are bookings from Japan, China, India, Russia. “Italian tourism is preparing to experience a good tourist season for the holidays, even if it registers a slight slowdown after the more than positive performance of recent years,” comments Vittorio Messina, president of Assoturismo Confesercenti. “In part, Italians continue to measure themselves against a high level of prices, and are increasingly moving their vacations outside traditional periods to save a little. However, the slowdown in foreign tourism, whose growth had so far compensated for the erosion of Italian demand, also weighs: the sector is beginning to feel the effects of international turbulence, conflicts are widening, geopolitical tensions are increasing, and the economy of some eurozone countries is worsening. The fear of entrepreneurs in the tourism supply chain is that continued difficulties will also affect arrivals in the first part of 2025. We must work to reverse the trend, including with the occasion of the Jubilee, whose positive impact is not yet felt, and which instead must not only be a driving force for Rome and Lazio, but for the whole country.”(ITALPRESS).
Photo: Trl
