Italy
Italy
Travellers from Italy made 33.8 million outbound visits in 2023, with a total international tourism expenditure of US$34.2 billion.
In 2023, the UK welcomed 1.7 million visits from Italy. During the travellers’ visits, their total expenditure was £972.5 million, with an average spend of £537 per person.
Discover here visitor behaviour, travel trade insights, detailed data visualisations for this market – and more. The statistics in this market report are collated from a range of sources such as the Office for National Statistics (ONS), as well as sponsored questions and our own research. For further details, see How we source this information.
Visitor characteristics
- 40% of visits from Italy are made by those aged under 35.
- Nearly three-in-five holiday visitors are making a repeat trip to Britain (excluding British nationals, within ten years).
- Most visitors to Britain live in or around Milan or Rome.
- 97% of departing visitors (excluding British nationals) are either ‘likely’ or ‘extremely likely’ to recommend a visit to Britain.
Popular activities for this market
Dining in a restaurant.
Sightseeing of famous buildings and monuments.
Going shopping.
Explore the inbound data in full
Use our visualisations to see data from this market in greater depth and clarity. Compare annual statistics, and filter by age group, gender, trip duration and more. It includes seasonality, trip purpose and regional spread of visitors to UK destinations. These data are based on the International Passenger Survey, conducted by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
Perceptions of Britain in the Italian market
- Italians have an upbeat opinion of the UK, ranking it overall fourth out of 60 nations in 2023.
- Their most positive perceptions are in relation to vibrant city life, general culture, contemporary culture, sports, and cultural and built heritage. However, areas of comparative weakness include perceptions of ‘welcome’ and of the UK’s ‘scenic natural beauty’.
- 39% say that a trip to the UK would be ‘fascinating’; around a third each believe it would be ‘exciting’ and ‘educational’ (2022).
- Australia and the USA are destinations that are considered to be the ‘best place’ for the attributes that Italians ‘most want’ from a holiday destination.
- Britain competes with France to be the destination that Italians are most likely to say is the ‘best place’ for ‘historic sites’ and ‘world famous places’.
- Activities that appeal to potential Italian visitors include ‘enjoying a traditional afternoon tea’, ‘taking a canal boat tour through the waterways of England’, ‘staying the night in a fairy-tale castle’, ‘visiting Windsor Castle’ and ‘going hiking on the South West coast’.
Global context
Top-level statistics relating to the population, GDP, tourism expenditure and popular destinations for this market. For greater detail on inbound tourism flows from this market to the UK, see our data visualisations.
| Measure | 2023 |
| International tourism expenditure (US$bn) | 34.2 |
| Global rank for international tourism expenditure | 7 |
| Number of outbound visits (m) | 33.8 |
| Most visited destination | France |
Key demographic and economic data
| Measure | 2023 |
| Population (m) | 59 |
| GDP per capita PPP (US$) | 55,039 |
| Annual average GDP growth over past decade (%) | 0.9 |
| Annual GDP growth (%) | 1.0 |
Caring for visitors
It is fundamental to provide any brochures and materials in Italian.
Value for money is vital when choosing a destination and accommodation.
Independent travellers tend to choose major and well-known chains, although bed and breakfasts are also popular.
Italians prefer good-sized hotel rooms, and cleanliness is paramount.
Italians are conservative eaters; when travelling abroad, Italians choose to eat simple British fare or Italian food. Vegetarian dishes are recommended.
The leisure and travel trade
28% of Italian visitors have booked a holiday (travel and accommodation combined) via a travel agency.
Tour operators are developing new products and new ways of selling these products.
Relationships in Italy are extremely important. Try to visit your contacts at least twice a year, and keep in regular contact with them even when you are back in Britain.
Access to Britain from Italy
The key routes and transport modes that connect this market with the UK.
| Measure | 2023 |
| Weekly aircraft departures | 920 |
| Weekly seat capacity | 164,684 |
| Airports with direct routes in Italy | 29 |
| Airports with direct routes in Britain | 18 |
- Airline seat capacity from Italy to Britain is highly seasonal, reflecting demand for outbound travel from Britain to Italy.
- In 2023 there were 920 weekly departures, with an average seat capacity of 164,684 per week.
- 29 airports in Italy serve 18 airports in Britain.
- Following the COVID-19 pandemic, scheduled seat capacity from Italy to the UK has recovered to 93% of 2019 levels in 2023.
- Visitors from Italy departing Britain by air pay £13 in Air Passenger Duty.
Further resources
Italy Market Snapshot.pdf
Italy Market Snapshot
Italy Market Profile
Italy Market Profile
Italy Aviation Profile
Italy Aviation Profile
Italy COVID-19 Travel Sentiment.pdf
View the full findings
Where visitors from Italy to the UK reside in their own country.xlsx
Where visitors from Italy to the UK reside in their own country
How we source this information
We work with a number of data sources to provide a rich and insightful picture of our key inbound source markets. This includes, but is not limited to, data provided by Oxford Economics, the UNWTO, Apex, Anholt-Ipsos Nation Brands Index and from our own surveys and ad-hoc research. The largest share of the data come from the International Passenger Survey (IPS) by the ONS.
Visit our About the International Passenger Survey page for more information on how the data is collected and analysed.
