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 April, Italy's tourism balance of payments recorded a surplus of €1.9 billion, up compared with the same month in 2025. Spending by foreign travellers in Italy (€4.5 billion) increased by 2.1 per cent, while spending by Italian travellers abroad (€2.7 billion) decreased by 1.6 per cent compared with April 2025.

For the three-month period ending in April 2026, inbound tourism expenditure also increased relative to the same period of the previous year (4.4 per cent), while outbound expenditure recorded a slight decline (-0.4 per cent; Figure 1). The increase in spending in Italy was significantly stronger among travellers from EU countries than among those from non-EU countries (7.9 per cent versus 0.9 per cent; Figure 2, left-hand panel). Spending by Italian travellers abroad increased in EU countries (1.9 per cent) but declined in non-EU countries (-2.1 per cent; Figure 2, right-hand 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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