Italy is experiencing economic growth thanks to tourism. Tourism, especially from abroad, is expanding rapidly, with international visitor numbers increasing by 14% compared to 2023, and foreign tourist spending in the first two months of the current year up by 20% compared to the same period last year. This increase could contribute up to 15% of Italy’s Gross Domestic Product.
However, overtourism has become a complex phenomenon that is difficult to control. Eurispes has tried to assess the situation through a study coordinated by the Director of the Fiscal Policy Observatory.
For 2024, Italy is expected to have 215 million tourist visits, with a total expenditure – including both foreign and Italian tourists – estimated at 62 billion euros. In August 2024 alone, foreign arrivals reached around 40 million, generating a turnover of over six and a half billion euros.
In Florence alone, short-term rentals generate a turnover of around 2 billion euros, with an annual tourist tax revenue of about 70 million euros. In 2023, Airbnb alone contributed about one million euros per month in tax revenue to the city (totaling 14 million and 389 thousand euros), equivalent to about 20% of what the city’s 393 hotels paid. In 2022, the platform contributed about 11 million euros out of a total of 43 million collected overall.
An urban tourism overtourism ranking based on the number of nights spent in 2023 by domestic and foreign visitors per square kilometer places Dubrovnik at the top, followed by Venice and Macau. Rome is also among the top fifteen, ranked 13th just below Paris.
Despite this, the number of properties dedicated to short-term rentals nationwide is less than 2% compared to the inventory of vacant properties, totaling 9.5 million, about 27% of the total real estate stock.
In terms of economic impact, in 2023, Florence, Rome, and Naples saw the highest increase in rates compared to 2019 (over 60%), with Venice having the highest average daily rate at 209.63 euros.
The Tuscany region has the most short-term accommodation options available, with 108,000 units. Sicily is second with 90,000 available solutions, accounting for 12% of the national total. Lombardy ranks third with 78,000 units, representing 10% nationally.
Concerning turnover generated by short-term rentals, Tuscany leads with 1.3 billion euros, followed by Lazio, which generates 14% of the total revenue with 8% of available accommodations. In Rome alone, which is the second most booked city after Paris through Airbnb, Booking.com, Tripadvisor, and Expedia Group, reservations increased from 8,574 million in 2022 to 11,768 million in 2023.
Other top-earning regions include Lombardy with just under 1 billion in revenue, Campania at 740,000 euros, followed by Sicily and Veneto at 630 million each. Puglia, Sardinia, and Liguria also feature among the top 9 regions.
To address overtourism, penalizing short-term tourist rentals outright may not be an effective solution, according to Eurispes. Solutions, including fiscal measures, must be implemented at the national level. Additionally, it’s crucial to note that most Italian hotels are affiliated with foreign companies, leading to significant lost revenue for the country.
The theme revolves around the fact that tourism, compared to its potential, still leaves little (and unevenly distributed) wealth in Italy, but it imposes 100% of the negative externalities on all citizens. It is essential to limit private appropriation of benefits and strengthen the redistribution of resources to all residents of tourist destinations. The focus should be on curbing the degeneration of tourism, not tourism itself.
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