A recent survey by the Bank of Italy on Italian tourism revealed that 2016 was a successful year compared to 2015. Italian travelers went abroad in greater numbers – 64.6 million (in 2015 it was 62.8 million people). In terms of foreign inflow there was an increase as well – reaching 82.9 million visitors compared to 81.6 million people in 2015.
In 2016, Italians spent 22,336,000 euros for traveling, which is the highest figure in the last five years. In 2015 they spent 22,012,000, while in 2014 about 300,000 euro less. Major peaks in the spending were registered in the summer season, mainly August, when Italians spent about 3 billion euros.
Italian tourism was boosted by the increased number of domestic visitors as well. During 2016, 64.6 million Italians crossed the borders. Overnight stays fell from 272.6 million in 2015 to 269.7 million in 2016.
In 2016, more than 36 million Italians stayed on the European continent. The highest figures were recorded in Switzerland (19.9 million), France (9.4 million), Slovenia (7 million) and Austria (6.97 million). As for the other continents, 2.7 million Italians went to the North America (of which 1.4 million to the USA). 2.5 million travelled to Asia (500 thousand to China) and 1.4 million Italians visited Africa. 196 thousand enthusiasts paid a visit to Oceania.
2016 saw an overall increase in international visits to Italy, as well as the number of overnight stays and monthly expenses by foreigners on the Apennine Peninsula. A total of 82.9 million foreigners crossed the borders of the country boosting Italian tourism. In 2015, it was 81.6 million.
In general, the data from last year are the highest in the last five years. There was a total of 340 million foreign overnight stays. Foreign travelers spent 36.7 million euros last year.
55.8 million of the 82.9 million foreigners arrived in Italy from other European countries. Mainly from Switzerland (13.8 million), Germany (11.9 million) and France (11.7 million). 6.2 million foreigners arrived from the American continent, of which 3.8 million were US residents. Asian inflow accounted to 2.2 million visitors in Italy in 2016.