In 2023, Italian tourism achieved a historic milestone with over 134 million arrivals and 451 million overnight stays, according to Istat and the Ministry of Tourism. These figures represent the highest ever recorded, surpassing pre-pandemic levels in 2019 by 3 million arrivals (+2.3%) and 14.5 million overnight stays (+3.3%). Compared to 2022, arrivals increased by 13.4% and overnight stays by 9.5%. Foreign tourists constituted 52.4% of the total overnight stays. The highest number of overnight stays was recorded in the Northeast, with around 177 million, accounting for 39.2% of the national total. This region was followed by the Center (24%) and the Northwest (17.7%). Veneto emerged as the most attractive region with 15.9% of national overnight stays, followed by Trentino-Alto Adige (12.4%), Tuscany, Lombardy, and Lazio (each just over 10%). In the South, Campania led with 4.5% of the national total (slightly over 20 million overnight stays). Several regions saw notable increases in overnight stays compared to 2022, including Lazio (+25.3%), Lombardy (+16.8%), Sicily (+13.9%), Campania (+13.3%), and Valle d'Aosta (+11%). These increases were partly driven by the revival of tourism in major cities.
The non-hotel sector experienced the most significant growth compared to 2022, with arrivals and overnight stays rising by 16.9% and 11%, respectively. The hotel sector also saw growth, with arrivals up by 11.5% and overnight stays by 8.1%. Regionally, the non-hotel sector's growth exceeded 20% in Lazio (31.5%), Sicily (25.2%), Campania (22.8%), and Lombardy (22.3%). Foreign tourists were predominant in certain regions, making up 70.6% of overnight stays in Bolzano, 69.3% in Veneto, 64.2% in Lazio, and 62% in Lombardy. Conversely, domestic tourism prevailed in the South, with Campania as the exception, where foreign tourists accounted for 52% of overnight stays. Regions with a strong domestic tourism presence included Molise, Abruzzo, Marche, Basilicata, Calabria, Emilia-Romagna, and Puglia, where over 69% of overnight stays were by Italian visitors.
