ENIT – Italian National Tourist Office – is strengthening its presence at the 2023 edition of the B2B IFTM Top Résa exhibition, Paris-Porte de Versailles from October 3 to 5. The ITALIA stand (Hall 1- All T048 – W048) will host on approximately 380 m² seven major Italian regions going from north to south: Piedmont, Emilia-Romagna, Marche, Lazio, Basilicata, Calabria and Sicily.
The border region of Liguria will be represented by the Azienda Speciale Riviere di Liguria (a body of the Chamber of Commerce for the promotion of the territory), as well as the Republic of San Marino and the national airline ITA.
Beyond the regions mentioned, the ITALIA stand will welcome more than 90 tourist operators (TO, receptive, hotels, resorts, receptive structures, DMC, car rental companies, golf courses, associations, festivals, tourist offices, airlines etc.) working across the different Leisure, Luxury and MICE segments.
An excellent year 2023 for transalpine tourism
Italy confirms itself in 2023 as one of the main tourist destinations in the world and expects to match pre-pandemic results, or even exceed them. With forecasts of a significant increase in terms of presence, arrivals and tourist spending, the sector as a whole plays an essential role in the country’s economy (13% of GDP – tourism and related sectors). This year, the key factor in this strong recovery is the great return of foreign and international tourism.
The weight of French tourism in Italy in 2023
The French have never stopped loving Italy and going there, even during the years of the pandemic: “an opportunity to rediscover it, particularly with new itineraries and tourist segments. A trend which has not disappeared and which is on the contrary being confirmed for 2023”, declares Maria Elena Rossi, Marketing and Promotion Director of ENIT. If the cultural motivation remains strong, “(…) the French tourist no longer stops only in the great cities of art (…) and appreciates the wildest aspects of the sea, the free beaches (…) Lake tourism and seaside tourism, especially in the south of Italy, are growing, as is wine and gastronomic tourism.
The figures confirm this positive trend
France alone represents 16.8% of foreign tourism in Italy. For the first quarter of 2023, there were an estimated 2,515,000 French tourists in Italy compared to 2,480,000 during the first three months of 2019. For the same period, international spending in Italy amounted to 6.8 billion, of which 56% from Europe, with France representing 10.5% of the total. Spending by French people traveling to Italy in the first quarter of 2023 is up 55.2% compared to 2022 and 12% compared to the pre-pandemic volume. In Italian airports, for the period June to August 2023, 97,000 French passengers were expected, France being the second country of origin after the United States with 6.1% of the total number of air passengers arriving in the summer 2023.
The present regions confirm the positive trend for French tourism
For example: Emilia-Romagna, a region historically linked to France, records 74% arrivals and +78.6% overnight stays of French people in 2022 versus 2021. For Piedmont, region served by rail links Sncf and Freccia Rossa of Trenitalia – France occupied first place in 2022 in the border provinces of Turin, Cuneo as well as
only in Upper Piedmont and second for the entire region, just behind Germany.
In Basilicata, a region boosted by Matera Italian Capital of Culture in 2019, France occupied first place, followed by the United States and Germany. In Sicily, France consolidates its first place with 1,116,937 French tourists in 2022, or 17.4% of the island’s international tourism. Calabria, for its part, confirms its growing interest in French tourism by participating in the IFTM Top Resa exhibition for the second consecutive year. Already served by the national company ITA Airways from Paris-Charles de Gaulle and Paris-Orly with a stopover at Rome-Fiumicino, the region now benefits from a twice-weekly seasonal service operated by Transavia between Paris-Orly and Lamezia airport -Term.
