Rome was Italy’s most sought-after Christmas destination for tourists from the US, France, Spain, Brazil and Germany, according to data compiled by the online short-rental platform Airbnb.
The Italian capital was followed in the rankings by Florence, Milan, Venice and Naples, with the majority of holidays being taken by tourists between 18 December and 2 January 2023. The rankings were based on the number of Airbnb searches conducted in the third quarter of 2022 by international travellers, reports the business newspaper Il Sole 24 Ore.
The Roman Colosseum is among the most visited tourist spots in Italy and was voted one of the New 7 Wonders of the World. It is the best-preserved amphitheatre in the world, which manages to convey its charm century after century to anyone who visits it.
Furthermore, shopping tourists in Italy are expected to exceed two million in 2023, marking a higher level than the 2019 results, SchengenVisainfo.com reports.
In this regard, the President of Risposte Turismo Francesco di Cesare said that if the threshold of two million shopping tourists is exceeded, it would be a result that reconfirms the existence of a significant part of the tourist demand. He also added that the main reason for vacations in Italy is shopping.
Commenting on this decision, the President of Confcommercio Imprese for Italy, Carlo Sangalli, emphasised that since 2016 the data from the Shopping Tourism Italian Monitor has turned the spotlight on the very significant economic and social role of those two million annual shopping tourists in Italy reached in 2019.
“To these tourists, always pre-pandemic, are added at least another 38 million who, during their trip to Italy, have the experience of shopping for food and wine products one or more times, an enormous potential for commerce in our country”, he also added.
As for domestic travel in Italy this Christmas, Italians headed largely to the mountains, with Trentino-Alto Adige claiming four of the 10 most popular winter destinations including the top two: Bolzano and Trento, followed by Breuil-Cervinia in Valle d’Aosta, Roccaraso in Abruzzo, Merano in Trentino-Alto Adige, Verona in Veneto, Andalo in Trentino-Alto Adige, Abetone in Tuscany, Aosta in Valle d’Aosta and Aprica in Lombardia.
Last year over the Christmas period the earnings of Airbnb hosts in Italy grossed more than €37 million, with higher revenues in cities such as Rome (over €6.5 million), Milan (€2.8 million), Florence (€2.5 million) and Venice (€2.4 million), according to Il Sole 24 Ore.