A surprising diversity
Italy has it all. Mountains, bucolic paradises, enchanting beaches, historical gems, great culinary traditions and welcoming inhabitants…. thanks to all these assets, this quite narrow peninsula, surrounded by waters and Alpine picks, keeps on growing in the touristic sector.
2016 – the year in which the Italian tourism boomed
Last year (2016) has actually been a record year with up to 403 million day-visits coming to Italy in order to enjoy the best that this country has to offer. This means a 3% growth since 2015. And 2017 will probably be an even better year, Italy being also helped by the exceptional “immunity” which has protected its territory from the terrorist attacks that have marred other European countries. In Europe, its current numbers are outmatched only by Spain and France.
Therefore, this sector accounts today for approximately 10% of the country’s GDP and is currently perceived as the most pivotal engine of development for an economic system which is positively evolving after several years of stagnation.
Tourists’ online booking behavior
However, the real novelty about this exceptional development is the constant growth of the use of internet to plan and book these Italian holidays. Today one trip in two is, in fact, organized on-line.
Germans (14% of all visits to the peninsula) as well as French tourists (3%) and British visitors (3%) etc. mostly book hotels and organize tours and excursions on-line. New habits which are more and more encouraged by the constant technological developments implemented by the Italian leisure and tourism facilities to meet clients’ needs and expectations.
New on-line instruments and trends for luxury tourism
Moreover, new trends and options are defined by this new tourists’ online booking behavior, even for the high-level tourism segment. The luxury car hire online seems, for example, to have become a top choice for wealthy visitors and for luxury car amateurs coming to Italy to discover the country, behind the wheel of the latest Ferrari, Lamborghini or an elegant Maserati.
