The Bank of Italy conducts a sample survey on Italy's international tourism. The survey, which contributes to the compilation of the "services" item of the balance of payments, collects data on tourism expenditure, inbound and outbound visitors and the main characteristics of the trip. The annual report is available in the Statistics series, starting in 2017.
The results of the survey, based on interviews and counts of resident and non-resident travelers transiting through Italy's borders, show for 2020 a severe decline in inbound and outbound flows, both in terms of visitors and of expenditure, relative to 2019, because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Against the backdrop of a global collapse in international travel, in 2020 Italy's world market share on international tourism receipts slightly increased.
