The Italian tourism industry is making a remarkable recovery this year, as the Travel Innovation Observatory of Milan's School of Management reported. Root tourism is a sector with great potential for Italian economy.
The transport sector alone has a value of EUR 23.7 billion, an increase of 41% compared to 2022 and 9% higher than its value in 2019, which was EUR 21.7 billion. The hospitality sector, including both hotel and non-hotel services, as well as internal and incoming flows, has a value of EUR 35.8 billion, which is 11% higher than its value in 2022 and 7% higher than its value in 2019 when the total sector (offline and online) was worth EUR 33.4 billion euros. Most of the transport business, nearly EUR 16.9 billion, was generated through online platforms, while slightly over half of the hospitality sector's turnover was generated online.
The Italian hospitality industry has an upcoming opportunity to tap into root tourism, promoted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. This involves the 60-80 million Italians, or their grandchildren and great-grandchildren, who emigrated in the last century.
Experts estimate that there are 260 million people of Italian descent worldwide. This reveals a large market of individuals eager to consume Italian products and services and visit Italy. Therefore, it is crucial to develop dedicated root tourism policies targeting this market. Their connection to their mother country has never been broken. With nostalgia and a desire to rediscover the land of their ancestors, they could generate an annual turnover of almost EUR 8 billion.
The latest data on the Italian communities in 8 countries - Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, and the United States - highlights the impact of root tourism on the Italian economy. When members of this community come to Italy, 30% expect to stay for one to two weeks, another 30% plan to stay for 15 days to a month, while the remaining 40% include visits to other European countries.
Their spending power is medium to high. Only one in four visitors intend to stay with friends or relatives, while 35% will choose hotels, and the rest will opt for other types of accommodation. The budget for the trip starts at 2,300 euros per person for those who visit for up to 14 days. Those who plan to stay for a month allocate 3,700 euros.
