Luxury tourism continues to experience steady growth worldwide, despite uncertainties related to inflation and rising costs. In Italy, luxury tourism is an important source of economic development for many regions. Tuscany, for example, is a favorite destination for luxury tourists, thanks to its rich culture, breathtaking landscapes and the presence of some of the world's most renowned wine estates.

In particular, luxury accommodations such as villas, castles, and resorts were the fastest growing category, with a 12 percent increase over 2019. Luxury tourists from abroad totaled more than 3 million in 2022, spending an average of 4,000 euros per person.

Italy is confirmed as one of the favorite destinations for luxury travelers, thanks to its cultural, artistic and scenic richness, as well as the quality of dining and hospitality. In particular, art cities such as Florence, Venice and Rome continue to be the most popular destinations, followed by prestigious coastal and mountain resorts.

Customers in this sector, especially in the wake of the pandemic, will continue to seek privacy, space, security, quality and attention to detail. Previously, intangible factors such as uniqueness, adventure and personalization played a crucial role in achieving high-spending customer satisfaction. However, being able today to combine professional preparation and perfection of comfort to offer can give luxury service providers an edge. In 2020, it is estimated that luxury tourism (domestic and international) generated revenues of $511 billion globally.

Italy managed to maintain a good share of the foreign market (25 percent). The international incidence was higher than the performance of the 3 destinations ahead of it in the 2020 rankings, namely Germany (10%), France (12%) and the United Kingdom (2%). In this context, for Italy, the estimated average 2020-2024 increase is +26% for domestic luxury tourism revenue and +31.0% for international revenue. In 2024, the projected foreign incidence increases to 28%.

The high-end traveler increasingly shifts focus to eco-friendly vacation when choosing a destination and is attracted to 5-star hotels that offer advanced technology in eco-friendly environments. There are more than 11.7 million travelers spending nights in 5-star hotels. The international component accounts for nearly 76 percent of total attendance.

In 2020, this rises to just over 4 million presences of which 2.2 million are foreign (54.9% of the total) and 1.8 million are Italian (45.1%). In 2021, total nights go back up to about 7 million. The largest share is always attributable to international clientele: 59.6 percent of presences, amounting to 4.1 million with an overall average stay is 3 nights.