International tourism

Banca d'Italia has been conducting since 1996 a survey on international tourism primarily to collect information for compiling the 'Travel' item (which includes goods and services acquired from an economy by non-residents during visits to that economy) and the 'Passenger transport services' item in Italy's balance of payments, in line with the methodological conventions laid out in the sixth edition of the IMF's manual (BPM6). The survey is based on interviews and counts of resident and non-resident travellers at the Italian borders (road and rail crossings, international ports and airports); it is integrated with administrative data and, since end-2020, with mobile phone data, where available.

The survey also serves as a useful database for operators in the tourism sector and researchers, thanks to the wide range of analytical data provided alongside those gathered strictly for balance of payment requirements. The data are available on this website both in aggregate form and as microdata.

Monthly brief on international tourism

Last October, Italy's tourism balance of payments recorded a surplus of €2.1 billion, compared to €1.9 billion in the same month of 2024. Tourism revenues (€4.6 billion) rose by 2.7 percent, while expenditures (€2.5 billion) decreased by 4.0 percent.

In the average of the three months ending in October 2025, inbound expenditure grew by 2.8 percent compared to the same period in 2024, while outbound expenditure decreased by 2.6 percent (Figure 1). The increase in spending in Italy by travelers from EU countries was significantly higher than that recorded by non-EU tourists (4.4 percent vs. 1.0 percent, respectively; Figure 2, left panel). The reduction in spending by Italians abroad was due to the decline in non-EU countries (-7.6 percent), compared to a moderate increase in the EU area (2.2 percent; Figure 2, right panel).

Fig. 1 - Italy's inbound and outbound tourism expenditure
(3-month moving averages; year-on-year percentage changes)

Italy's inbound and outbound tourism expenditure - Fig. 1

Fig. 2 - Italy's inbound and outbound tourism expenditure by geographical area
(3-month moving averages; year-on-year percentage changes)

Italy's inbound and outbound tourism expenditure by geographical area - Fig. 2

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