How much do foreign tourists appreciate Italy when they spend their holidays in “il Bel Paese”? Let's have a look at a survey carried out by the Bank of Italy that was included in the Report on Regional Economies.
In Italy, as stated in the press release, the international tourism contributes significantly to the balance of services, constituting the only relevant item. The Bank of Italy's Survey on International Tourism surveys the degree of satisfaction of foreign travellers visiting Italy, recording their opinion in an interval between 1 (very bad) and 10 (very good).
The average overall assessment attributed to stays made in 2018 (the year in which these stays amounted to a total of approximately 42 billion euros) is 8.4. If the average value for Italy as a whole is set at 100, the results are about 4% for the Centre and the South.
Compared to any experiences of stays in the previous three years, the judgments of improvement prevail over those of an opposite nature, with a balance of 18.2% rising to 20.2% and 19.4% in the Centre and South, respectively. In line with these assessments, between 2016 and 2018 there was an increase in overnight stays in Italy of about 12%: the increase was particularly significant in the southern regions, where stays grew by 25%, contributing more than a third to the change in the national total.
The balance (almost 80%) between the favourable and unfavourable opinions expressed with respect to the expectations that tourists had before their departure is also broadly positive. The net balance (about 20%) of the comparative opinions expressed in comparison with potential alternative destinations (Spain, France, Greece, Croatia) is also positive. The figure for the southern regions stands out, with a net balance of 26.5%, higher for European travellers than for those coming from other continents.
Two thirds of the total expenditure of travellers in Italy is represented by those who have come to Italy for holidays: among these, tourists at the lakes (about 6% of holiday spending) are those who appreciate most their stay in Italy (net balance of positive ratings equal to 30.3%), followed by tourists at the beach (24% of total spending; net balance equal to 28%). The net balance of tourists on cultural holidays is more limited (17%), whose expenditure represents more than half of the total; their opinion of the quality of the visit is higher than the national average in the North East and in the Centre, while it is lower in the North West and in the South. On the contrary, prices are considered to be higher throughout the North and relatively lower in the central and southern regions. In the South, where the perceived cost of the visit is well below the national average, pricing policies aimed at finding resources to invest in the preservation of cultural heritage could improve quality ratings.