Tourism in Italy

Tourism poster (1899)

The tourism for decades one of the major sources of income in Italy . Italy is one of the classic travel destinations in the world. Popular destinations are the Alps , the coastal areas on the Ligurian and Adriatic Seas , numerous historical cities, museums, archaeological excavation sites and the Venice Carnival .

The Italian contribution to the cultural and historical heritage of Europe and the world is noteworthy. As the crossroads of the Mediterranean civilizations, the center of the Roman Empire , the seat of the papacy and the cradle of the Renaissance , Italy played a decisive role and became the starting point for European art, culture and research.

Italy has an estimated total of 100,000 monuments of all kinds (museums, castles, statues, churches, galleries, villas, fountains, historic houses and archaeological finds). It is the country with the most UNESCO World Heritage Sites (55). The World Heritage Sites in Italy range from individual buildings to entire core cities to thematically overlapping groups such as the rock carvings of Valcamonica , prehistoric pile dwellings , the places associated with the rule of the Lombards or a group of late Baroque cities .

In 1999, 36 million foreign guests came to Italy. In 2018 there were around 62 million.

Development of the number of international guests

International guests are all people who arrive from abroad and spend at least one night in Italy. The expenses incurred by these guests are also given, calculated in US dollars.

year	Number of international guests	revenue
1995	31,052,000	$ 30.411 billion
1996	34,080,000	$ 31.884 billion
1997	34,692,000	$ 31.415 billion
1998	34,933,000	$ 31.339 billion
1999	36,516,000	$ 29.570 billion
2000	41,181,000	$ 28.712 billion
2001	39,563,000	$ 26.924 billion
2002	39,799,000	$ 28.213 billion
2003	39,604,000	$ 32.623 billion
2004	37,071,000	$ 37.893 billion

year	Number of international guests	revenue
2005	36,513,000	$ 38.364 billion
2006	41,058,000	$ 41.666 billion
2007	43,654,000	$ 46.134 billion
2008	42,734,000	$ 46.217 billion
2009	43,239,000	$ 40.407 billion
2010	43,626,000	$ 38.432 billion
2011	46,119,000	$ 43.271 billion
2012	46,360,000	$ 40.943 billion
2013	47,704,000	$ 43.825 billion
2014	48,576,000	$ 45.562 billion

year	Number of international guests	revenue
2015	50,732,000	$ 41.415 billion
2016	52,372,000	$ 42.423 billion
2017	58,253,000	$ 46.719 billion
2018	61,567,200	$ 51.602 billion
2019	62,100,000	$ 47.798 billion

Destinations (selection)

Colosseum in Rome

leaning Tower of Pisa

Amalfi Coast : coastline in Campania
Alberobello : atown in Apulia knownprimarily for its conical buildings ( trulli ).
Apennines : a mountain range around 1500 km long that stretches from the Po Valley to Sicily.
Capri : an island in the Gulf of Naples
Catania : with the cathedral, the Castello Ursino and the Teatro Massimo.
Cinque Terre : stretch of coast of the Italian Riviera , with the five villages Monterosso al Mare , Vernazza , Corniglia , Manarola and Riomaggiore .
Dolomites : is a popular destination due to its impressive mountain landscapes.
Florence : with the cathedral , the Uffizi Gallery and a large number of cultural monuments.
Milan : with the Duomo and the Teatro alla Scala .
Matera : known for its old town, which largely consists of cave settlements , the Sassi .
Naples : Big city near the Phlegraean Fields at the foot of Vesuvius , with Pompeii .
Northern Italian lakes : such as Lake Como , Lake Garda and Lake Maggiore .
Palermo : Italy's fifth largest city and the political and cultural center of Sicily.
Pisa : with the world-famous leaning tower and cathedral of Pisa .
Rimini : is a city on the Adriatic Sea and a center of seaside tourism.
Rome : the "Eternal City" with numerous sights such as the Colosseum , the Fontana di Trevi , the Roman Forum , Castel Sant'Angelo , the Pantheon and the Vatican City .
San Gimignano : Small town in Tuscany with a medieval town center, also known as the "city of towers".
South Tyrol : with climatically favorable valleys and diverse winter sports opportunities.
Venice : with St. Mark's Square , the Grand Canal , the Rialto Bridge and the Carnival .
Verona : with the ancient arena and the most famous balcony in literary history ( Juliet's House (Casa di Giulietta) ).
Etna : active volcano in Sicily and at around 3323 meters above sea level, the highest volcano in Europe.