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 January, Italy's tourism balance of payments recorded a surplus of €0.4 billion, a slight increase compared with the same month of 2025. Inbound tourism expenditure (€3.0 billion) rose by 3.8 per cent, while outbound tourism expenditures (€2.6 billion) increased by 1.2 per cent.

Also for the three-month period ending in January 2026, the increase in tourism receipts (3.7 percent) was larger than that in expenditures (2.3 per cent) compared with the quarter ending in January 2025 (Fig. 1). The increase in spending by foreign travellers was essentially similar for those coming from EU countries (3.8 per cent) and from non‑EU countries (3.6 per cent; Fig. 2, left panel). Spending by Italian travellers abroad, on the other hand, grew more in EU countries than in non‑EU destinations (4.3 per cent versus 1.7 per cent, respectively; Fig. 2, right panel).

With the March 31 update of balance of payments statistics, monthly and quarterly international travel data for 2025 were revised. The adjustments were minor, on the order of 0.1 per cent; the tourism balance surplus was slightly revised downward, amounting to €22.7 billion (1.0 per cent of GDP) for the year as a whole. The related microdata will be released on April 17. The updated edition of "Survey on International Tourism" will follow shortly.

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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