Last updated: October 11, 2022, by Grant Thomas
đź”–Cite this webpage (Thomas, Grant. “Latest Italy Travel Statistics & Data”. visasassociation.com, October 11, 2022, https://visasassociation.com/statistics/italy-travel-statistics)Â
Note: The latest statistics and travel data available about Italy are for 2021. We will update this page as soon as 2022 statistics and data on Italian tourism and Schengen Visa for Italy are available.
Highlights: Latest Italy Travel Statistics & Data
- In 2021, Italy received 81,000 (28%) fewer Schengen Visa applications than in 2020.
- In 2021, Italy’s Schengen Visa approval rate was 90.2%.
- In 2021, Italy recorded 289,178 million overnight stays in travel accommodation establishments (+80,731 million or 28% compared with 2020).
- In 2021, travel establishments in Italy recorded 78,671 million tourist arrivals (+22,969 million or 29% compared with 2020).
- The number of overnight stays in Italy decreased from 436,739 million in 2019 to 289,178 million in 2021 (-34%).
Tourism in Italy in 2021: First Signs of Recovery after the Covid-19 Pandemic
In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak caused unprecedented disruption to the tourism sector in Italy.
Lockdowns, curfews, and other restrictions on travel and daily life have caused tourist arrivals to drop to near-zero levels at the end of the first quarter of 2020.
In 2021, vaccination and an easing of travel restrictions led to an increment in tourist arrivals of 32.6% (6.9% more than the EU average).
However, while there was some improvement in 2021, figures remained far from pre-pandemic levels.
In addition, staff shortages have put the tourism sector in Italy under great pressure. Thousands of vacancies remained unfilled in 2021 after the pandemic-related restrictions led to the loss of more than 200,000 jobs (source: World Travel and Tourism Council – WTTC).
Julia Simpson, WTTC President & CEO said that if vacant jobs remain unfilled, it will further jeopardise the chances of the tourism sector to recover from the Covid-19 pandemic.
The recovery of the travel and tourism industry in Italy could have been more significant if it weren’t for the impact of the Omicron variant which reinstated new travel restrictions.
- In 2021, Italy received 212,806 Schengen Visa applications, 28% or 81,000 fewer than in 2021.
- In 2021, Italy received 1,841,000 (90%) fewer Schengen Visa applications than in 2019.
- Italy issued 190,451 Schengen Visas in 2021, 68,589 or 26% fewer than in 2020 and 1,702,197 or 90% fewer than in 2019.
- In 2021, Italy’s Schengen Visa approval rate increased by 1.7 percentage points in comparison with 2020.
- In 2021, Italy received 562,543 or 99% fewer Schengen Visa applications from China in comparison with 2019.
- The number of tourist overnight stays in Italy for trips related to personal reasons totalled nearly 176 million in 2021 (21 million or 12% more than in 2020).
- In 2021, travel and tourism in Italy generated nearly 9.1% of the Italian GDP, showing an increment of 3 percentage points in comparison to 2020 and a decrease of 1.5 percentage points in comparison to 2019.
- The total contribution of travel and tourism to GDP in Italy amounted to 162.6 billion euros (+60 billion euros or +37% in comparison with 2020 and -32.2 billion euros or -16% in comparison with 2019).
- International tourists in Italy spent 20.8 billion euros in 2021, with 3.5 billion euros or 15% more than in 2020.
- In 2021, Italy ranked the 5th country with the highest number of Schengen Visa applications received.
- In 2021, tourist arrivals in Italy grew by 32.6%, with 6.9 percentage points more than the EU average.
- Nights spent at tourist accommodation establishments in Italy went up by 34.4% in 2021, with 7.1 percentage points more than the EU average.
- In 2021, 27.4% of the total nights in tourist accommodation in Italy were spent in August, the peak month.
- In 2021, 59% of the total nights in tourist accommodations in Italy were spent in hotels and similar accommodations.
- In 2021, 63% of the total nights in tourist accommodations in Italy were spent by domestic tourists.
- The annual international tourist expenditure in Italy increased by 4 billion euros (23%) in 2021 over the previous year.
- In 2021, domestic visitors accounted for the highest share of travel and tourism spending in Italy (84%), showing an increment of 14 percentage points in comparison with pre-pandemic levels.
- In October 2021, Italy recorded 55.6% fewer international visitors in comparison with October 2019.
- In October 2021, Italy recorded 50.1% fewer trips for leisure purposes in comparison with October 2019.
- In the first nine months of 2021, Italy received 46.5% fewer tourists over the same period in 2019.
- In 2021, leisure travel accounted for the highest tourism expenditure in Italy (48.8%).
- Overnight visitor expenditure in Italy amounted to 20,200,000 EUR in 2021, with 3,843,000 or 19% more than in 2020.
- Same-day visitor expenditure in Italy amounted to 1,100,000 EUR in 2021, with 125,000 or 11% more than in 2020.
- In 2021, the average per night expenditure of international tourists in Italy was 7% higher than in 2020.
- In 2021, the average length of stay of international tourists in Italy was 7.8 nights.
Schengen Visa Applications and Tourism in Italy: Latest Trends
Italy’s Schengen Visa approval rate from 2015 to 2021
Countries that submitted the highest number of Schengen Visa applications for Italy from 2015 to 2021
International tourist arrivals in Italy from 2015 to 2021
International tourist overnight stays in Italy by travel reason from 2015 to 2021
Spending of international tourists in Italy from 2015 to 2021
Top 5 countries that submitted the highest number of Schengen Visa applications for Italy in 2021
Approval rates for the countries that submitted the highest number of Schengen Visa applications for Italy in 2021
Top 5 third countries that had the highest rejection rates for the Schengen Visa for Italy in 2021
Sources:
European Travel Commission – EUROPEAN TOURISM: TRENDS & PROSPECTS Quarterly report (Q2/2021)
STATISTA – Tourism in Italian Cities – Statistics & Facts
ISTAT – Italian National Institute of Statistics
European Commission – Statistics on short-stay visas issued by the Schengen States
McKinsey – Perspectives on travel recovery: Italy
Group Intesa Sanpaolo – 2022: International and Italian tourism scenario
