Outdoor tourism
Highlights of outdoor tourism in Italy in 2024
Source: Istat data up to 2023.
Regional Statistics Offices: provisional 2024 data (where available).
Overnight stays 2024 Italy
67,8 mln
In the three-year period 2022-2024, the outdoor segment demonstrated that it had overcome the crisis caused by pandemic restrictions, reaching record levels. -0.6% fewer outdoor overnight stays in 2024 compared to 2023.
In absolute terms, this amounts to a drop of approximately 0.4 million overnight stays in 2024.
Overnight stays 2024 Northern Italy
40,5 mln
Most overnight stays at outdoor sites and villages are concentrated in Northern Italy (60%). Veneto, Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna remain the leading northern regions.
Overnight stays summer 2024 Italy
55,9 mln
In summer 2024, figures remained at 2023 levels, with a slight decrease of 0.4%. In absolute values, this amounts to a drop of 0.2 million overnight stays in 2024.
Outdoor 2024
The 2019-2024 Outdoor Sector saw a record number of overnight stays, with a return of visitors from abroad.
Data source: Istat data up to 2023
Regional statistics office: provisional 2024 data (where available)
Tourist flows across Italy
Central and southern Italy are slightly down, while northern Italy remains stable
Data source: Istat data up to 2023.
Regional Statistics Offices: provisional 2024 data (where available)
North
+10 %
Attendance at outdoor sites in Northern Italy 2024 compared to 2019.
Northern Italy is proving to be a driving force in the outdoor segment, which alone accounts for 60% of the market. International tourists are growing in particular (+18.2% compared to 2019).
Central Italy
-7,2 %
Overnight stays at outdoor sites in central Italy in 2024 compared to 2019.
Central Italy shows a decrease in overnight stays in all regions except Marche (+7.7% compared to 2019). In comparison with 2019, overnight stays in Lazio had the greatest impact, down 28.8%, or 1.4 million in absolute terms.
Southern Italy and the Islands
-12,1 %
Overnight stays at outdoor sites in Southern Italy and the Islands in 2024 compared to 2019.
The South and the islands stand at values similar to 2023 but are still below those of 2019 (-12.1%). In particular, overnight stays at outdoor sites are down compared to 2019 in Campania (-36.4%) and Calabria (-25.8%), while Puglia is growing (+1.0%).
Factors impacting demand
The elements that can influence the total demand for outdoor tourism
Source: Istat data.
Phase of geopolitical uncertainty
The high level of global geopolitical uncertainty is impacting the movement of flows and the choice of foreign destinations.
Decline in spending capacity on the domestic market
The decline in spending power in Italy (driven by inflation and stagnant wages) continues to influence consumer choices.
Changing perception of open-air products
The new perception of outdoor products (less and less tied to the classic camping scheme with tent and pitch) brings benefits to tourist flows and awareness of the product.
Extreme weather events
The newsworthiness of extreme weather events (e.g., heat waves or floods) tends to impact both the choice of destination and the chosen holiday period.
Seasonal change and variation in average length of stay
More and more people are reducing their average stay so they can afford a holiday (or more than one). They also adjust seasonality to take advantage of less busy or more affordable periods.
New international players
The capabilities of new international players that have begun operating in Italy have an impact on attracting travellers from markets where they are strongest.
2025: stable flows
In 2025, the overall volumes recorded were less than 68 million, highlighting a stable phase in demand
Data source: ISTAT. 2025 Forecast: Thrends
Estimated overnight stays at outdoor sites 2025
Worst case scenario
67,06 mln
Expected scenario
67,72 mln
Best case scenario
68,42 mln
Scenarios based on a 1-percentage-point margin of error (1% is the average error of the latest Observatory editions)
2025: Market Trends
Data source: ISTAT. 2025 Forecast: Thrends
2025: estimate by geographical area
The northern regions are expected to confirm their momentum.
The gap could grow in the South.
Northwest and Northeast
Key areas driving demand (almost 60%), particularly from foreign visitors. We expect the slight growth trend to continue.
Central Italy
A downward trend is confirmed for these regions, which are suffering in particular from the decline of the Italian market, still far from 2019 values.
Southern Italy and the Islands
In this case as well, we expect a declining trend in demand, mainly due to the Italian market, while foreign demand remains stable.
Data source: ISTAT.
2025 Forecast: Thrends
vs 2024
Northwest
9,57
million
overnight stays
+0,2%
Northeast
31,16
million
overnight stays
+0,6%
Central Italy
16,71
million
overnight stays
-1,2%
Southern Italy and the Islands
10,23
million
overnight stays
-0,7%
Explore the Outdoor Tourism Observatory:
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Overview of Tourism in Italy
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Outdoor: trends and forecasts
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Markets and trends