Tourism is one of Italy’s most significant economic sectors and its long-term development potential is important. This OECD review of tourism issues and policies in Italy was undertaken as part of the programme of work of the Tourism Committee, at the request of the Italian Department for the Development and Competitiveness of Tourism. The report intends to support policy and programme development in Italy in order to develop and further strengthen the tourism sector.

Tourism is one of Italy's most significant economic sectors and its long-term development potential is important, especially for the southern regions. Tourism is a significant exports driver representing around 40% of the exports of services. The Italian tourism economy is highly internationalised. However, the domestic market is predominant (57% of all nights), especially in the south (75%). While direct tourism spending amounted to 5% of GDP, the direct and indirect impacts were around 10% of GDP in 2009. Employment is also significant; Italy has one of the highest shares of people employed in tourism in Europe. In 2009, international tourism revenues represented EUR 31 billion, and domestic revenues (holidays only) EUR 33 billion. Weaknesses in tourism statistics lead to an underestimation of the tourism economy and make the evaluation of the Italian tourism economy and comparisons with other countries difficult. After an exceptionally challenging year in 2009, international tourism in Italy is strongly recovering in 2010 (+6% for January - July 2010).

Tourism is one of Italy's most significant economic sectors, a major driver of exports for the Italian economy, an important contributor of jobs, and has long-term development potential. However, in the last decade the dynamics and the economic results of tourism in Italy have been less favourable than in the 1990s. Some of the key features identifying Italian tourism include the increase in the number of short trips, the rapid development of tourism in art cities, the strong growth of accommodation facilities other than hotels, and the very high proportion of micro-businesses. While Italy has a highly developed transport infrastructure, placing the country among the most developed, it is lagging behind in terms of recent transport infrastructure and inter-modality. While domestic tourism represents the major share of Italian tourism, the Italian tourism economy is highly internationalised, and inbound tourism to Italy has performed well over the last 20 years, in line with OECD average. However, productivity in tourism is decreasing, and will be an important issue to be addressed in the near future.

While increased attention has been given to tourism, lack of integration of tourism policy into an overall development strategy remains problematic. As tourism is not exclusively within the remit of the state, Italy’s regions are empowered to play an essential role in a variety of key tourism activities, including product development and marketing. The multiplicity of stakeholders active in tourism development and promotion represents a significant challenge in terms of organisation and governance, and for the implementation of a coherent and efficient national tourism strategy. The development of a long-term integrated national tourism strategy, in partnership with all stakeholders from the private and public sectors, is required. Such a strategy would help optimise the use of resources, such as European funds, public and foreign investment, and would enable the coherent and co-ordinated development of tourism in Italy and its regions.

The purpose of presenting international learning models in the review of tourism issues and policies in Italy is to provide inspiration for the Italian stakeholders in implementing reforms in tourism.

Up-to-date economic information and tourism intelligence are considered very important public goods for the private sector. A modern system of tourism statistics has to provide timely and reliable information on tourism production and consumption aspects. Tourism statistics in Italy remain very fragmented, at the national, regional and local levels, and the review highlighted that users were often unsatisfied with the quantity and quality of tourism-related data available. Policy makers and business decision makers need access to precise and rigorous information about the economic significance of tourism and its various roles in the Italian economy, in order to monitor the development of tourism and to develop effective policies. A stronger co-operation between producers and end-users is necessary in order to improve the quality and timeliness of data in Italy. Such an approach would help to avoid duplication, support greater coherency of data, and produce appropriate information that meets the requirements of consumers.

The purpose of presenting international learning models in the review of tourism issues and policies in Italy is to provide inspiration for the Italian stakeholders in implementing reforms in tourism.

The uniqueness and international significance of a country’s resources are important factors in determining its tourism potential. Italy's position as one of the top cultural destinations in the world is highlighted by the high number of unique UNESCO World Heritage sites and extensive offer of museums and similar institutions. It is clear that Italy continues to have a very strong international brand. However, the process of globalisation has led to increased competition, and Italy, like many traditional destinations, must maintain an effective presence in international markets to ensure that products are visible on the global stage. Structural certainty, along with adequate and stable resources, are essential to enable the National Tourism Agency (ENIT) to plan strategically and maintain a continuous and effective presence in priority markets. While regions have responsibility for the development and promotion of tourism, they also cooperate with ENIT on specific promotional campaigns. However, there is evidence to suggest they could more effectively utilise the strong Italian umbrella brand to facilitate access to distant markets. The assessment of marketing and promotional campaigns is an important element of tourism evaluation and, on the whole, Italian tourism promotion is not sufficiently performance-oriented at this time.

The purpose of presenting international learning models in the review of tourism issues and policies in Italy is to provide inspiration for the Italian stakeholders in implementing reforms in tourism.

The tourism experience is provided through personal interaction. The availability of staff with specific skills and competencies for each product and tourism experience is vital. Tourism managers and employees must be able to adapt to technological requirements, have language skills, and the flexibility to respond to quickly changing demands from clients. To maximise the potential of tourism over the long term, it is critical for Italy to develop and improve its education and training offer in the field of tourism in a way that will explicitly meet the needs of the Italian tourism industry stakeholders. At present there is both a quality and a quantity gap in the education and training available in Italy. Despite the fact that the number of tourism university courses has rapidly increased in recent years, the number of students has declined. The demand for higher education skills from the sector is also very weak, with the orientation of the courses not sufficiently market-oriented, and tourism businesses not playing an active role in the definition of content or course development. There is a need to enhance the transfer of knowledge from the education sector to the industry and develop an integrated approach closely associating the regions, the private sector and the education and training organisations.

The purpose of presenting international learning models in the review of tourism issues and policies in Italy is to provide inspiration for the Italian stakeholders in implementing reforms in tourism.