Italy as an exclusive destination: this is one of the points emerging from the Enit study conducted by Unioncamere. More than 20 percent of foreign tourists choose our destinations expressly attracted by the Italian lifestyle, associating our country with an "allure" of exclusivity.

The survey confirms forecasts from the end of July, with a growth in sales compared to 2019, the last pre-pandemic year. Operators report in closing summer an average room occupancy rate of 75.3 percent in July and 85 percent in August, about 1 more room for every 10 compared to 2019.

The highest average room occupancy rate was recorded in facilities in seaside resorts (89.4 percent), but more than positive is also the balance of art cities (83.3 percent) and mountain facilities (82.7 percent).

The first data for September show a 60.2 percent of rooms occupied/booked as early as mid-month, thanks to the still warm weather that encourages the last sun and sea baths, in addition to the traditional end-of-summer visits to cities of art (62.8 percent).

The largest sales in the non-hotel sector were in July (75.9%) and August (86.7%), driven by campgrounds (82.3% July, 94.1% August), facilities that appear to continue to favor outdoor forms of tourism, more in contact with nature. In September, on the other hand, hôtellerie fared better (61.9%), where it was the medium-high category hotels that recorded the highest occupancy rate for the period (67.1% in the 4-5 star hotels). While there has been a slight downturn in proximity tourism, the trend appears to be more than offset by the growth in foreign tourists compared to summer 2022, reported by more than 30 percent of merchants, particularly tourists from Germany, France, Belgium and the Netherlands.

As for the forecast for the fall season, 44.8 percent of the rooms offered for October stays turn out to be booked, a figure that is already above the 2019 sellout. As for the booking figure for November (42.8 percent) and December (28.7 percent), thanks in part to the favorable calendar of public holidays, they are already higher than those recorded for the same period in 2022.

In continuity with the pricing strategies adopted during the summer season, the rates applied for this fall are higher than those of 2022 for 4 out of 10 facilities. A choice that, together with the good results obtained in terms of sales already since the beginning of the year, leads 45% of the companies to expect to be able to make a profit on the balance sheet at the end of the year (a figure more than double that of September 2022, when this prediction was made by only 20% of the operators).

The trends emerging from the study are further confirmation that Italy is intercepting the recovery of tourism, with an increase in demand from foreign tourists, who see Italy - and rightly so - as the ideal destination to live exclusive experiences under the banner of the Italian lifestyle, which, like 'Made in Italy', represents a true brand of excellence and quality. We are mostly talking about tourists with medium-to-high incomes and an important propensity to spend, which gives rise to that high-end tourism, which is essential for Italy's economic well-being - and this is confirmed by the projection of budgets in the black for one out of two tourism companies - as it is a segment that generates significant revenue, creates jobs, increases the visibility and image of the national brand, stimulates other sectors of the economy and contributes, in short, to be a driving force for all tourism, including low-cost tourism.

The survey directed at tourists vacationing in Italy during summer 2023 shows how high prices have affected the spending profile of many tourists this summer.

If we consider the average tourist's daily spending in summer 2023, 71 euros per day per capita goes for accommodation (between accommodations and the parallel market of short rentals), an increase of 15 euros per day of vacation compared to summer 2022 (+27%).

This has led many tourists to try to save on other items, particularly meals eaten away from home, entertainment, shopping, but also culture. It is not surprising, then, that the average expenditure on goods and services purchased at the vacation spot, a result of 60 euros per person per day, appears to be reduced compared to both last summer (-13%) and 2019 (-5%). On the other hand, when we go to consider the highest-spending segment, this mainly concerns foreign tourists for whom the average expenditure on accommodation rises to 184 euros per person per day (110 euros more than the average foreign tourist in Italy) and on purchases of goods and services in the territory to 209 euros (i.e. almost three times the average expenditure). In particular, 68 percent of foreign tourists spend on vacation to purchase fashion and clothing (compared to the Italy average of 30 percent) and on purchases of typical handicrafts (25 percent compared to an Italy average of 19 percent).

Luxury tourism is beginning to take shape as an expanding market segment for our country as well. The search for "exclusive experiences" that see the intertwining of luxury travel, the high quality of "Made in Italy" in its different declinations and a strong sensitivity to the sustainability of the offer, attracts increasing flows of high-spending customers, particularly international.

Finally, as far as the overall evaluation of the vacation in Italy is concerned, a strong satisfaction expressed by tourists visiting our country is confirmed, both Italians (average rating 8.2) and foreigners (average rating 8.4). Fully satisfying, in particular, is the local food and wine products and our turning out to be welcoming. Positive judgments that tourists increasingly share on the web, leaving online reviews, a habit that concerned 39 percent of respondents in summer 2022 and rose to 47 percent of this year's respondents. The most used social networks are Instagram (39.7 percent of tourists posting reviews), Facebook (35.7 percent) and TripAdvisor (28.8 percent), followed by Google, Booking and Twitter.

It is not surprising, then, that the web and social media are now the first and most important vehicle for communicating the country's excellence, influencing 48 percent of tourists in their choice of destination.