Art Cities and Incoming: Trends for Summer 2022

According to data, foreign tourists will return to fill the streets of Italian art cities but with significant changes in market shares. Data comes from the Travel Data Lake, the data hub that captures the dreaming phase of tourists.

We are in the midst of spring and summer is practically upon us: the main protagonist of this period of the year is undoubtedly seaside tourism, which in recent weeks has been preparing for the hot season hoping to approach the 2019 figures. But the big unknown of Italian summer is linked to the foreign market and therefore to destinations that had a strong international connotation of flow.

Art Cities during 2020, almost total collapse

Special focus is on art cities; destinations that suffered the most during 2020. Florence, for example, lost 80.6% of tourist presence compared to 2019, losing about 11 million overnight stays. Venice also saw a very sharp decline, of -72.5% (-9 million presences); as did Naples with, a -74.7% (-3 million). The market that contracted the most was, inevitably, the foreign one, which also in 2021 was missed. The situation certainly did not improve with the outbreak of war in Ukraine, which cast a heavy shadow over the much desired phase of restart.

The Russia-Ukraine war does not instill fear: travels resume

But after discovering that, in reality, the Ukrainian crisis had a very limited impact on tourists’ travel intentions, the hunt for foreign tourists has restarted. Today, the most important demand not only for tourism operators but also for those managing these destinations, is not simply when foreign tourists will return; but especially which markets. Because due to the events, some markets (like the Russian or even the Chinese) are and will remain on hold for a long time; while others will take their place.

Looking into the specific tourist destinations, we realize that although the city product has consolidated characteristics, there are significant differences between one city and another. Certainly in volume: among the three, Florence has the highest share of search volumes for overnight stays; at least eight times higher than Naples.

Summer of art cities: Florence at the top of desires

Tourism in Florence: 87% is foreign, mainly from the USA

Foreign tourism has always been a pillar of Florentine tourism: the territory has now been organized for years to respond to the needs of this market; despite a good presence of domestic tourism, especially in terms of day-trips and school tourism. But while in 2019 there were concerns about overtourism, in 2022 there is franticly trying to understand when and which foreigners will return.

According to data, foreigners have already started searching for overnight stays for the coming months: among the three cities analyzed, Florence has the largest share of searches from foreigners, about 87% of the total.

Considering individual nationalities, the top is the United States (100, Index number), with a search volume that doubles that of Italians (41). We already knew that Americans were in love with Florence and Italy, but it is also true that with the outbreak of war, there were fears of a negative reaction from them. Therefore, it is not a given that the US market is only active but even more active than the domestic market.

Americans are mainly searching for overnight stays in Florence for September and early July, with an average stay of 2.8 nights. Currently, most searches are for couples, with an average booking window of 100 days; higher than that for families (88 days), which, however, represent a much smaller share.

Tourism in Venice: 83% is foreign with strong seasonality

Even for the Serenissima, foreign tourists play a central role in the local economy: the high level of internationalization of flows has always strongly conditioned neighboring tourist destinations, which have been able to exploit Venice’s tourist flow as if it were a large demand generator.

Today, foreigners account for just over 83% of travel intentions. According to the stay window, which shows searches based on the selected check-in day, foreigners are maintaining high demand in July, even though it is usually not their preferred month for city visits. Certainly, unlike Florence, the seasonality of demand is less pronounced: Venice is still a destination (also) for beach holidays, which allows it to have good demand even in August.

The leading countries are always the United States (110, Index number); not far from Italy (70). In this case too, Americans have a shorter average stay (specifically, 2.7 nights) and prefer traveling in September. The French, the third market for Venice, are interested in longer stays, averaging 3.7 nights, mainly searching for accommodations in August.

Tourism in Naples: only 68% is foreign

With Naples, the composition of demand changes significantly: among the three, it is the city with the lowest share of foreign tourism (68%), and also has a relatively low search volume compared to its competitors. This definitely influences the stay window, which is more concentrated in July and has no demand for September. Despite also being a destination (also) for beach holidays, tourists’ travel intentions are all for last-minute plans in July, with August still subdued.

Italians are the primary active market (100, Index Number), while foreigners follow at a great distance: United States (37), France (32), and Germany (29). Regarding the average stay, the French are searching for stays averaging 4.4 nights; the highest value after the Belgians (7.7 nights), who, however, have a much lower search share. For Germans and Americans, the average stay is 2.7 and 2.4 nights respectively. Different are the arrival periods: for the French, August is the best month to visit Naples; Americans continue to prefer September, while Germans are mainly searching for stays at the beginning of July.