tourism-italia.com

According to the npr website, the economic slowdown has finally hit Italy with the tourism sector shrinking by 25% since 2008. Apparently it is the Americans who the Italians are missing the most as data from the Bank of Italy shows that there were 2.5 million American tourists in 2006 compared to just 1.75 million in the first nine months of last year. This is worrying news as the tourism industry is worth 10% of Italy’s GDP and 150,000 people who were dependent on tourism have already lost their jobs. With a lack of italia.it website and fewer local tourists, Italy may not have seen the worst of this recession yet. However, more people may now be able to visit Italy with big brands having to cut their prices!

According to the United States Tour Operators Association, for the fifth year in a row Italy has come top in a poll of the most popular international destinations for vacation packages and tours for Americans booking through USTOA member organisations. Coming a very distant second was England. Now I wonder what could draw all of those Americans here? The food? The architecture? The scenery? The history? Or maybe just the overall unique package…..