Italy experiences a shopping tourism boom

18-12-23

This year, 2.1 million tourists chose Italy for a shopping vacation, the so-called "shopping tourism", which is seven percent more than 2019, the year before the pandemic.

The traditional Via Montenapoleone, Milan's street of brands, rises this year to second place in the world ranking for retail value per square meter (18 thousand euros, up 31 percent over 2019).

By 2025 the number of active outlets and department stores will be close to a hundred (28 and 71, respectively), making Italy an increasingly central place in the geography of destinations chosen by tourists, foreign or not, for shopping.

These are the key figures presented by the research firm Risposte Turismo at the opening of the sixth edition of Shopping Tourism, the Italian forum held in Rome.

As far as the U.S. market is concerned, the analysis shows that Rome, Milan, Naples, Venice and Florence continue to be the cities that, in that order, this segment of demand associates with shopping, considering them ideal destinations for this activity.

As for other smaller centers, the survey shows that Bologna and Genoa score higher than other locations such as Taormina, Cortina and Capri.

Overall, shopping tourists and common tourists, the survey showed that 91% of Americans traveling in Italy would not give up buying Italian products: especially gastronomy (53% would buy these products "absolutely") followed by fashion items.

"The 'shopping tourism', says Ivana Jelinic, President and CEO of Enit, the Italian national tourism agency, "allows to amplify the whole range of Made in Italy values."

"Harmonizing the tourist offer with products that are representations of Italy's image is an act of awareness of Italian exclusivity and of all the creative, productive and artistic expressions of our Peninsula," adds Jelinic.

For the head of Enit, "we have the duty to spread this image on the international scene in the best possible way, also offering packages integrated with the wonders of the Italian lifestyle that translate into concrete products."

The next edition of the forum will be held in Milan on Friday, February 23, 2024. (ANSA).