Italy is one of the most popular travel destinations for holidaymakers. In 2023, the Mediterranean country recorded a record high – never before have so many tourists come as last year.
Congested streets and overcrowded attractions have been a common sight in Italy’s cities for some time now: But according to current figures from the statistics authority Istat and the Ministry of Tourism in Italy, there have never been as many tourists as in 2023. Last year, the popular holiday destination recorded more than 134 million holidaymaker arrivals with around 451 million overnight stays in accommodation establishments, according to a joint statement from the authority and the ministry in Rome.
According to Istat, these were the highest figures ever recorded in tourism surveys. Compared to 2022, the number of arrivals increased by 13.4 percent and overnight stays by 9.5 percent. That is around 16 million more holidaymaker arrivals and 39 million more overnight stays. According to Istat, this even exceeds the figures for 2019, the year before the start of the corona pandemic. At that time, around 131 million holidaymakers accounted for 436 million overnight stays.
Italy is one of the most popular travel destinations for international holidaymakers. Just over half of the tourists last year came from abroad. Italy has also been one of the most popular holiday destinations for Germans in recent years. The regions with the most guests were Veneto with the lagoon city of Venice, Trentino-South Tyrol, Tuscany, Lombardy and Lazio with the Italian capital Rome.
The Mediterranean country has been battling the phenomenon of mass tourism for some time. Venice, Rome and some cities in Tuscany in particular are overcrowded during the holiday season. The discontent among city residents is growing and they are demanding that the flow of visitors be better controlled and restricted. In order to get the phenomenon under control, Venice introduced an entrance fee for day visitors a few months ago.
Source: Stern
