Travel Spotlight on: Italy

Outbound Travel Trends

Despite moving out of its recession—or perhaps because of it—Italians may not be traveling outside of their borders as fervently as some of their European neighbors. That’s according to IPK’s European Travel Confidence Index, which measures consumer travel intentions for the next year. As noted in the ITB World Travel Trends Report 2015/2016, Italians’ confidence has a -2% score, lower than the European average.

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That’s not to say Italians aren’t traveling. Euromonitor’s 2014 Passport report says that Italians traveling abroad are most interested in discovering new places, visiting monuments, experiencing the artistic heritage/culture of the destination country, shopping and simply having fun—especially if they find value for their money. Favored destinations include France, Spain and the UK, followed by Germany, Austria, the US, Croatia and Greece.

Growth in Mobile Travel

Thanks to the strong performance of mobile commerce in Italy—driven by the spread of smart devices among Italians and the proliferation of mobile apps provided by travel suppliers—more and more consumers in the Mediterranean country are expected to use their smartphones for making travel plans, from researching to booking.

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This is a trend that will further propel the rising popularity of intermediaries (including OTAs) and the online channel. Euromonitor reports that online value sales of intermediaries increased of 11% (to 6.5 billion) in 2015—and is likely to experience a CAGR of 6%, reaching online value sales of €8.5 billion by 2020.

To meet consumer preferences and demand, vendors will be boosting their mobile and online booking capabilities—and this impacts payments. Citing Euromonitor research in their discussion of the travel trends Italian tour and activity providers need to know about for 2016, Trekksoft.com points out that Italians are more likely to pay with cards than cash.

Inbound Travel Trends

Air, Lodging, and Living Like a Local

By all accounts, things are looking “up” for both Italian air travel and lodging.

• Airlines’ value sales increased by 3% to reach €8.8 billion in 2015, a figure that will hit €9.8 billion by 2020 thanks to an increase in the number of routes to and from Italy—mostly of low-cost carriers, primarily Ryanair Holdings Plc. (Euromonitor)

• Lodging value sales increased by 1% to reach €33.6 billion in 2015, a number expected to reach €34.7 billion by 2020 (Euromonitor)

Euromonitor suggests that the spread and success of peer-to-peer websites (e.g. Airbnb.com) has been a large part of the growth in the lodging category. Consumers are flocking to opportunities to blend in and live like locals. In fact, according to the ITB World Travel Trends Report 2015/2016, Italy is in the top five ‘sharing accommodation’ destinations for international travelers, along with the UK, France, Denmark and Spain.

Taking the Entire Family Along

Multigenerational travel tops Virtuoso’s list of 2016 Top Travel Trends—and Italy is the top destination for family trips. The international network of travel agencies credits Italy’s broad appeal for this distinction, putting it ahead of Mexico, South Africa and Costa Rica.

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Italian MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Exhibitions)

Italy takes the 6^th spot in the ICAA’s global rankings for the country hosting 504 international meetings in 2015. This puts them behind the US, Germany, Spain, the UK and France, but ahead of Japan, China, Netherlands and Canada. And according to the Italian National Tourist Board UK and Republic of Ireland, on a yearly basis Italy has reached over 100,000 events with an average of over 20 million people attending them. The country’s appeal, the website says, is its accessibility, variety of venues, local attractions, food, weather, and their efficient and organized system. For more insights, visit the Italian Convention Bureau and the GVST Group.

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