Italy ranks second among the most searched countries in Europe

According to data on air travel searches (from the largest international flight metasearch), even for the first months of 2021, Italy's performance appears encouraging.

The year 2020, as we already know, was a critical year, especially for the tourism sector: just a few months into 2021, operators are still sounding the alarm, and recovery still seems distant, despite the spring-summer season being imminent.

While the development of a European health passport is still under discussion and the first tourist corridors are taking shape, Italy’s performances give a faint hope for the future. Already in 2020, according to UNWTO, the Belpaese experienced a decline in foreign tourists smaller than that of other countries, losing “only” 51% of arrivals, thus becoming the second most popular tourist destination in the world.

“The pandemic has caused a crash in global tourism, but also a real earthquake in rankings that have been consolidated for a long time” Luca Martucci

Considering Italy had been stuck in fifth place for many years (after France, Spain, the United States, and China), this “reshuffling” could turn into an opportunity. Or perhaps, we should make it happen.

According to data on air travel searches (from the largest international flight metasearch), even for the first months of 2021, Italy’s performance appears encouraging.

Currently, Italy is the second most searched country in Europe, and fifth worldwide after the United States, Russia, Spain, and Brazil. 12% of travelers worldwide are searching for flights to reach the peninsula, and since January 1st, searches have been gradually (but steadily) increasing at an average rate of 3%.

We are still far from recovering pre-Covid values (January 2020 searches were seven times those of January 2021), but it can be said that there is strong interest in our country, enough to surpass key competitors like Mediterranean countries (France, Greece, and Turkey) in particular.

Among the most searched regions are Lombardy (22% of searches) and Lazio (18%), thanks to the high traffic from the capitals; followed by Sicily (17%), Veneto (8%), and Campania (8%). In particular, besides the airports of Rome and Milan (which together account for 38% of total searches), travelers seem to be more interested in the cities of Catania, Naples, Palermo, Venice, Bari, and Bologna. Significant results are also seen for the airports of Cagliari, Turin, and Lamezia Terme.

This type of information reflects travelers’ interest in a specific destination, projecting trip planning to future dates. Currently, trips are still heavily restricted, but it is important to know that in the first two months of the year, more than 10 million users showed interest in our country: an interest that should be cultivated, consolidated, and nurtured until Italy reopens to tourism.