Trips and holidays in Italy and abroad

In 2017, trips with overnight stays made by residents were 66,347 million. The number of trips was stable compared to 2016.

The average duration of trips increased slightly at 5.8 nights (6 nights for holiday trips and 3.5 for business trips), corresponding to an amount of 383 million nights (+7.7% compared to 2016).

Between 2016 and 2017, long holidays (32,7 million) increased by 9.1% and short holidays (28 million) were stable. Business trips (5,7 million) decreased by 15.6% reaching the lowest level since 2007.
Domestic destinations hosted 81.0% of trips. Trips to foreign countries (19.0%) were mostly directed towards EU destinations (13.4%).

During the summer, 13.6% of long domestic holidays were spent in Emilia-Romagna and 12.4% in Puglia, whereas Trentino-Alto Adige was the first destination during winter (14,0%) and autumn (12.4%).
Spain was the main destination for long holidays (13.6% of long trips abroad),
whereas 15.8% of short holidays were spent in France, which was the preferred country also for business trips (17.7% of business trips abroad).

Among non-European destinations, Usa was the most visited country for long holidays (4.1%) and for business trips (7.1%).

In 2017, 21.8% of residents made at least one trip in a quarter on average, with an increase compared to 2016 (the percentage was 19.2%). The share of trips rose to 41.3% in the summer period, during which over a third of residents made at least one holiday (+7.6% compared to 2016). The average duration was 8.4 nights for holiday trips (10.8 nights for long holidays).

Private tourist accommodation was chosen in 54.3% of trips (62.3% of nights spent), especially in the case of long holidays (59.1% of trips and 65.5% of nights spent). Collective tourist accommodation establishments were confirmed to be the preferred for business trips (80.6% of trips and 70.7% of nights).

More than half of trips (55.7%) were organized
through direct booking, whereas trips made without booking were 36.6% and trips booked via travel agency/tour operator were only 7.4%. The share of trips booked using Internet increased by more than five percentage points compared to 2016, regarding 44.0% of holidays and 55.0% of business trips.

Holidays made with the purpose of recreation and relax were mainly directed to Italian destinations (54.7%), whereas holidays made for visiting the artistic, architectural and archaeological heritage were more frequently abroad (26.0%).

Car was the main means of transport (61.4% of trips), especially for short holidays (66.3%). Air and train were less used (respectively 18.6% and 9.8%).

Compared to 2016, the number of same-day visits (70,669 million) decreased by 4.7%. These were mainly directed to Italian destinations (97.5%), with the purpose of recreation and relax (65.0%), but also for visiting relatives and friends (15.1%).

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