After a 2025 consolidation, with an average of at least 6 out of 10 rooms occupied among the
Availability of accommodation establishments, 2026 promises to be a growth for Italian tourism: the rate
filling between January and April is already close to 50% in hotels and non-hotel facilities, towed
from the growth in demand from tourists from Germany, France and Switzerland.
This is what emerges from the latest investigation carried out by ISNART for Unioncamere and ENIT in the context
of the Observatory on Tourism Economics of the Chambers of Commerce.
As for the two major events hosted by our country in the two-year period 2025-2026, yes
confirms how the Jubilee brought a clear increase in customers in Lazio (50% of
operators), with a long wave that also involved the nearby Marche and Umbria (where 30% of the
operators say they are “satisfied” with the results obtained thanks to the driving of the event).
For the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics, pending the final data, the first estimates indicate a
rate between 70% and l’85% of occupied rooms for February; and advance bookings around 60%
for the following months, demonstrating the long tail that major events bring to the territory,
creating value for host destinations.
“The major events that see Italy as a protagonist on the international scene in this two-year period are
important growth opportunities for the positioning of Italian destinations, with effects that
will be evident in the medium-long term” adds Loretta Credaro, President of Isnart-Istituto
National Tourist and Cultural Research, “among the operators a general climate of
confidence with respect to visibility, and therefore the prospects for economic return in the coming years of the
investments made, to the benefit of the entire local tourism supply chain”.
“From large events and demonstrations we expect a return to tourism even in the medium to long term.
Travelers who initially choose certain destinations to follow appointments return
then in the following years to visit the whole country” comments Ivana Jelinic, AD ENIT SpA
“Italy is expressing its full potential in terms of tourism, international travellers choose
increasingly our destinations, contributing to the social and economic development of the territories and
even of internal areas”.
“Major events, both sporting and otherwise, confirm themselves as an enormous catalyst for tourist flows and
economic and their propulsive effects also reverberate in the growth of presences which, according to
to the Ministry of Tourism’s predictive model, are estimated at over 100 million in the first four
months of 2026” declares the Minister of Tourism Daniela Santanchè. “Furthermore, demonstrations such as the
Olympics or the Jubilee serve as a showcase that increases the visibility, notoriety and appeal of the
Italian destinations, as well as powerful attractors of investment and infrastructure for the benefit of territories
and community”.
As many as 40% of the companies impacted by the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics, in particular,
report how the event has already promoted an increase in visibility for its facility, with
undoubted brand implications for the “Sistema Italia”. From investigations carried out directly to
tourists on holiday from Unioncamere-Isnart, an estimated 891 million tourist presences
overall in 2025, between official accommodation and parallel market for private homes, which
activate an economic impact on the territories estimated at 108.8 billion euros, including housing costs,
catering, local transport and parking, shopping, recreational and cultural activities.
The growth in foreign demand is confirmed, which constitutes 48% of tourist flows, equal to
approximately 431 million estimated presences for 2025 in our destinations (+0.6% on 2024, +4.4%
on 2023).
An international tourism that invests more than in the past in trips and experiences in Italy:
Estimated 60 billion euros in tourist expenses at the holiday destination (+3% on 2024, +34% on 2023)
and an increase in budgets for restaurants, tastings and purchases of typical local products, museums and
monuments, events and entertainment. The average daily expenditure released on the territory for the tourist
foreigner is 72 euros for accommodation and 105 euros for other expenses.
Culture, for the fourth consecutive year, is the first reason for foreign visitors in
our country (moves 45% of these visitors alone), followed by food and wine tourism, between
tastings and restaurants of excellence (20%); third step of the podium for outdoor tourism.
It is worth highlighting in this regard how approximately 20% of foreign tourists report having used
AI to plan and organize the holiday in Italy (logistical organization, choice of itineraries
and activities to be carried out, accommodation and restaurants).
Compared to the recent holidays between Christmas and Epiphany, monitored thanks to the location
intelligence (analysis of mobile traffic at the destination), the presence of 5.9 million was estimated
tourists in Italy, of which 2.3 million are foreigners (68 thousand more than Christmas 2024), with a more
high in Lazio and Umbria and in the mountain tourism destinations of Valle d’Aosta and Trentino-Alto
Adige.
On the alternative market for private homes there are 6.7 million nights booked through the
Airbnb portal for stays between March and June, slightly increasing compared to last year (data
taken from the AirDnA database), to which are added another 4 million nights for summer stays in July and
August 2026.