Katie Holmes and Tom Cruise in the Odescalchi Castle in Bracciano, Kim Kardashian with Kanye West at Forte Belverde in Florence, and Amal Alamuddin with George Clooney at the Aman Hotel on the Grand Canal. All these celebrities got married in Italy. Wedding tourism in Italy has been constantly growing.
According to a research conducted by Massimo Ferrruzzi, founder of Jfc, there have been 7,147 weddings thus far this year. These weddings have generated a turnover of almost 386 million euros. Spending increased by 2.3 percent over 2016.
With an average stay of 3.5 days per guest and 8.4 days for spouses, total arrivals reached 336,232, while attendances amount to 1.2 million. But there are several ways “to say ‘yes’” and Jfc’s study also analysed the three types of weddings and their economic impact.
A standard ceremony is chosen by 76.2% of the couples with a turnover of 137 million. Luxury ceremonies are chosen by 19.4% of couples with a 178.2 million turnover, while super luxury by 4.4% people with a 70.6 million turnover.
Wedding tourism in Italy exert greater appeal to couples from the USA, representing 24.1% of arrivals. The US is followed by UK at 21.9% and Germany (5.9%) by a clear distance. The most preferred regions by couples are Tuscany (24.4%), Campania along with the Amalfi Coast/Capri (16.9%) and Veneto (10.5%). Regarding the location, Jfc records a favour for villas and mansions (20.4%), farmhouses (18.6%) and hotels (13.3%).
Why is Italy so popular among the couples? The influences on the choice of the bride and groom are the gastronomic excellence in 15.8% of cases. The beauty of the location in 11.3% and the allure of the so-called sweet life in 10%. The religious rite is chosen only by 23.2%, with the civil ceremony prevailing at 31.4% and symbolic ire at 45.4%.
For those who want to focus on wedding tourism to develop their business, forecasts for next year are encouraging. In fact, an increase of 6.8% of foreign marriages in Italy is expected. The countries with the most important growth indicators are Russia and Brazil, followed by the Netherlands and China. The regions with the largest increase in demands will be Puglia, Sicily and Campania with particular attention to small villages.