The war in the Middle East is not dampening tourism in Italy. A survey

Reports on visits to the Riace Bronzes, accommodation providers recording August-level figures in June, and a significant rise in hotel occupancy in Veneto. Italian tourism appears not to have been affected by the uncertain international situation, which centres largely on the war in the Middle East, the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz and the resulting rise in fuel costs. This is according to Istat data reported by Refricerche’s Congiunturaref study: compared with the first five months of 2025, tourist arrivals in Italy have risen by 4 per cent. However, whilst concerns about the global situation have led foreign visitors to choose Italy as their holiday destination because it is considered safer, the same cannot be said of Italians. Unioncamere’s May forecasts confirm that between July and August there will be 171.8 million tourist arrivals, of which 89 million will be non-residents, accounting for 52 per cent of the total. According to a survey by Tecnè for Federalberghi, 36.2 million Italians will go on holiday between June and September, whilst 48.5 per cent of the population will stay at home. And more than half of those surveyed – 52.8 per cent – will do so due to a lack of funds. Because of high energy costs, many of them, having looked at their wallets, have decided not to travel or to do so for fewer days.

However, thanks to foreign tourism, the balance remains positive. “The domestic market is obviously more sensitive to economic trends. But that one-day reduction in the length of stay by Italian visitors was offset by the international market,” says Massimiliano Schiavon, president of Federalberghi Veneto: “Demand from abroad exceeded domestic demand, and this was also the key to our success.” Data from the HBenchmark Institute’s study supports the president’s view: whilst there was a 1 per cent decrease in Italian visitor numbers between January and May in Veneto, foreign visitor numbers – predominantly from Eastern Europe – rose by 11.7 per cent, with an average stay of 2.7 nights. The situation is similar in other regions. In Puglia and Calabria too, tourism growth compared with 2025 reached double figures – 10 per cent and 10.8 per cent respectively – and in both cases foreign visitors were the driving force: +14 per cent in Puglia and +19.2 per cent in Calabria. Fabrizio D’Agostino, president of Federalberghi Calabria, explains that the increase in foreign tourism is also due to the measures implemented by Governor Roberto Occhiuto: “For three years, the governor has been working on attracting visitors via transport links with low-cost airlines such as Ryanair. We were already accessible via Lamezia Terme Airport; now, not only have flights from there tripled, but there are also new routes to Reggio Calabria and Crotone.” Commenting on the slight decline in domestic tourism in Puglia compared with last year (-1 per cent), Francesco Caizzi, regional president of Federalberghi, attributes this to rising fuel prices. “We’ve had the problem of the war, which has inevitably led to higher energy costs. Given that Italians normally go on holiday in July and August, and that most of them travel by car, Puglia is one of the destinations hardest hit.” However, he adds, “it remains one of the most popular regions and we hope to see positive trends in August. Even if July and August are no longer fully booked as they were four years ago.”

The rise in foreign tourism has not only offset the slight dip in domestic tourism, but has also forced us to engage with different cultures. “In Europe, we’re the only ones who take our holidays in August,” notes Caizzi, “others tend to travel more in May and June. During these months, we’ve seen peaks that we didn’t experience before.” This explains why, even on the island of Lampedusa, accommodation providers have already recorded figures that are usually only reached in August, although more generally it is the whole of Sicily that has seen an increase in visitor numbers over the years, according to Congiunturaref: in 2025, the island recorded 23.4 million visitor arrivals (55.8 per cent of whom were from abroad), overtaking Puglia and Sardinia to become the second most popular tourist region in the south, after Campania.

The situation is similar across the whole peninsula: “Yes, I can confirm this trend too. In June, there was a large influx of Polish visitors, with Ryanair flights costing 25 euros, heading to various parts of Calabria, not necessarily the best-known destinations,” says D’Agostino. According to analysis by HBenchmark, which compared bookings already made for the summer with those from last year, the Veneto region has seen growth in almost all sectors. From an 8 per cent increase in art cities, driven by Verona and Venice – where, according to Schiavon, pressure on accommodation has risen significantly – to a 4.4 per cent rise for Lake Garda, right up to the largest increase (+15 per cent) recorded in the mountain areas: “And this figure confirms the legacy left by the Milan-Cortina Olympic and Paralympic Games,” says the president. But what he emphasises most is the need not to squander what has been achieved so far, but rather to capitalise on these new visitor flows. “Extending the tourist season works like the offside trap – we all have to push forward: it means we must remain attractive even outside the traditional peak beach season. Holding an event in February and then nothing until May is a waste of money.” The other presidents share this view. “We’ve been working for years to extend our tourism offering to the small inland villages of Puglia too, because if you think of our region now, the first thing that springs to mind is the sea,” says Caizzi. “We need to lay the foundations to ensure this isn’t a one-off: queues have now returned for visitors to see the Riace Bronzes; they may not be the kilometre-long queues we saw in the 1980s, but it’s been a long time since we’ve seen anything like them,” concludes D’Agostino.