Italy Travel Statistics
Italy is the fourth most visited tourist destination, with over 96 million tourist arrivals in 2019 alone. Food, art, history, fashion, culture, coastlines, mountains… there are many reasons for travelers to visit Italy. Did you know that Italy is the country with most World Heritage Sites?
We dug up some interesting statistics about Italy, its tourism and travel. So, If you want to know more about how many people visited the Colosseum, or how many Germans visit Italy annually, keep on reading!
Top 10 most visited cities in Italy
In 2018, Italy had over 428 million visitor nights. Of those, 216,5 million were foreign guests. The following cities are the top 10 most visited:
- Venice (Veneto): had 37,04 million nights, (74,17% of those, foreigners) then making it the most visited city in Italy;
- Bolzano (Trentino-Alto): Then, had 32,4 million nights, 68,2% of those foreigners travelers;
- Rome (Lazio): had 29,8 million visitor nights, and 23,6% were international visitors;
- Trento (Trentino-Alto): had 17,7% million visitor nights, 41,6% of those were foreigners;
- Verona (Veneto): Then, Verona had over 17,2 million visitors, 77,4% of those were international tourists;
- Rimini (Emilia-Romagna): Rimini was visited for over 15,9 million people, only 23,8% were international visits;
- Milan (Lombardy): with more than 15,4 million visits, Milan is number 7. 60% of the visitors were foreigners;
- Florence (Tuscany): Then, had 14,7 million stays, 73,2% being internationals;
- Naples (Campania): with 13,1 million night visits, 55% of those foreigners;
- Brescia (Lombardy): and finally, number 10, Brescia, with 10,4 million nights, 71,4% of those by international tourists.
Who visits Italy?
Italians love being tourists in their own country, as we saw above. Nevertheless, half of the visitors that travel around and to Italy are internationals. So, let’s take a look to see where they come from!
- Germany: In 2018, more than 12 million Germans visited Italy;
- USA: a total of 5,6 million people visited Italy from the States;
- France: Italy was visited by 4,7 million French tourists in 2018;
- UK: more than 3,7 million tourists travel from the UK to Italy;
- China: in 2018, 3,2 million Chinese visited Italy;
- Switzerland: a total of 2,9 million tourists visited Italy from Switzerland;
- Austria: 2,6 million Austrians visited Italy lin 2018;
- Netherlands: more than 2,1 million tourists traveled to Italy;
- Spain: in 2018, 2,1 million Spaniards visited Italy;
- Russia: Then, in 2018, 1,6 million Russians traveled to Italy.
Top 6 most visited attractions
There are so many things to do, see and visit in Italy, it is hard to choose. If you’re looking for the most mainstream attractions, these are the 6 most visited and popular ones:
- Colosseum (Rome – Lazio): the most famous amphitheater, built in 70-80 AD by the emperor Vespasian. This theatre hosts over 5,6 million visits per year.
- The Leaning Tower of Pisa (Pisa – Tuscany): also, the campanile of Pisa, best known for its four-degree lean. In addition, this tower is visited by 5 million tourists every year.
- Vatican City: the most interesting building inside Vatican City is the Apostolic Palace, the official residence of the pope, and the building that hosts the Sistine Chapel. In addition, Vatican City is visited every year by over 5 million people.
- Santa Maria del Fiore (Florence – Tuscany): and finally, it was built from 1296 to 1436. Then the famous dome was engineered by Filippo Brunelleschi, who is considered the founding father of Renaissance architecture. Santa Maria del Fiore is visited by 1,8 million people every year.
Travel statistics – Are you visiting Italy soon?
Also, remember that you can always count on us to keep your luggage safe and sound! Then, If you’re traveling to Italy and don’t want to drag your suitcase around, leave it at one of our certified shops. We will take care of your bags while you enjoy your hands-free trip!