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Brynn Hallows

Professor Echols

ENG 1201

20 March 2022

How Does Tourism Affect Italy’s Economy?

When you think of Italy you probably think of beautiful beaches, pasta, pizza, and

historical landmarks. Millions of people visit every year which brings in billions of dollars.

Tourism also provides jobs for many people. With the recent pandemic in 2020, we got

a clear view of how tourism and the economy are correlated. Italy is a big tourist

location but how does it affect the economy?

Italy has been a popular tourist destination since the 18th century when families

would send their children on the Grand Tour. This tour was to introduce the children to

the culture, art, and history of Italy and other countries in Europe. They would visit

places such as Rome, Florence, Naples, and Venice (“History of the Grand Tour,”

Simmonds). Since the Grand Tour, Italy’s economy has relied on tourism for money and

jobs. Tourism brings in billions of dollars and millions of job opportunities for italians.

When the Covid-19 pandemic happened in 2020, the majority of people were not

traveling so Italy lost millions of dollars and tourism workers were not needed so many

jobs were lost too. This had a major impact on Italy’s economy. Italy’s tourism has

affected its economy for centuries.

After reviewing many sources, it is clear that tourism is one of the main pillars in

Italy’s economy. First, it is important to discuss the amount of people visiting the country

every year. According to OECD, in 2018 there were approximately 63.2 million inbound
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visitors (2). This is a lot of tourists, especially considering that according to Valeria

Cocco in her paper titled “Covid-19: Any Future Perspectives for Tourism in Italy,” “In

2018, in fact, the flows of foreign tourists in Italy (50.5%) exceeded the flows of

Italians…” (63). All of this being said, tourists outnumbered the amount of people living

in Italy in 2018. With the pandemic that happened two years later, there was a 95-100%

decrease in tourists in the two months of lockdown (Cocco 64). This will have a major

impact on Italy’s revenue and job opportunities for years to come.

Furthermore, the amount of people visiting Italy impacts the amount of money

brought into the country. The New York Times published an article called “As Italy

Reopens, Tour Guides Plead for More Aid, and Tourists” and it was written by Elisabetta

Povoledo. It states that in 2018, Italy made around $262 billion off of tourism alone

which accounted for 13.2% of its GDP (gross domestic product) (Povoledo 2). This is a

lot of money and accounts for a lot of Italy’s economy. Also, according to Statista, “The

highest figure was recorded in July 2019, when it reached three billion euros” (1). This

was at the height of tourism for the year and was just months before the pandemic.

Because of the pandemic, “...Italy recorded a negative tourism balance of 89 million

euros in March 2020, and a negative figure was also reported in the following month”

(Statista 1). Because of the pandemic, we have a first hand account of how tourism

correlates with the amount of revenue brought into the country. This makes it obvious

that less tourists means less money for Italy and less money has a major effect on the

economy.

Not only does tourism account for the amount of revenue in Italy but in 2018 it

provided 2 million jobs (OECD 1). This number only went up in the following year.
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According to the WTTC (World Travel and Tourism Council) in their article titled “Italy

Looks Set To Lose More Than €36 Billion From Missing Tourists And Visitors Due To

Pandemic, Says WTTC,” travel and tourism was responsible for 14.9% of jobs which is

approximately 3.5 million jobs. (2). Tourism jobs include taxi drivers, hoteliers, tour

guides, restaurant owners, and many more. It is a known fact that the pandemic caused

many people to be laid off and lose their jobs and it was no different when it came to

tourism workers. The WTTC states that, “Some 2.8 million jobs in Italy which are

supported by Travel & Tourism are at risk of being lost…” (2). Because of the major

decrease in tourists, no money is being made which means no workers are needed.

Other things to look at when discussing the economy and tourism in Italy are

hotels, and flights. In 2020, airplane reservations dropped between 76.4-95.2% between

June and August when compared to the previous year. Also, hotel percentages dropped

by 99.1% in 2020 compared to 2019. (Povoledo 1-2). These are just more ways to

prove that nobody was traveling during the pandemic. These factors also contribute to

the Italian economy since people aren't spending money to travel they don't need flights

or places to stay. This results in even more money lost for Italy’s economy.

After doing research and reading through many sources, it is clear to say that

tourism does affect the economy in many ways. Before the pandemic, tourism was a

very positive thing for Italy. The country relied on people coming to visit their multiple

historical landmarks and beaches for money and jobs. During the pandemic when

people weren't traveling, Italy’s economy struggled with money and lost jobs. I think

further research could be done about how Italy’s economy is currently recovering from
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the pandemic. This would help show how tourism affects Italy’s economy because the

pandemic makes it very clear that it does.

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Works Cited

Cocco, Valeria. “COVID-19: Any Future Perspectives for Tourism in Italy?”

https://almatourism.unibo.it/article/view/11717/12548. Accessed 20 March 2020.

“Italy.” OECD Library.

https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/sites/3d4192c2-en/index.html?itemId=/content/comp

onent/3d4192c2-en. Accessed 6 March 2022.

Povoledo, Elisabetta. “As Italy Reopens, Tour Guides Plead for More Aid, and Tourists.”

The New York Times, 10 June 2020.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/10/world/europe/italy-coronavirus-tourism.html

?auth=link-dismiss-google1tap. Accessed 6 March 2022.

Simmonds, Janet. “History of the Grand Tour.” The Educated Traveler, 23 November

2017. https://educated-traveller.com/2017/11/23/history-of-the-grand-tour/.

Accessed 20 March 2022.

Statista Research Department. “Monthly tourism balance in Italy from January 2019 to

December 2021.” Statista, March 2022.

https://www.statista.com/statistics/1155470/monthly-tourism-balance-in-italy/#:~:t

ext=Due%20to%20the%20pandemic%2C%20Italy,decrease%20over%20the%20

previous%20month. Accessed 20 March 2022.

WTTC. “Italy Looks Set to Lose More Than 36 Billion From Missing Tourists And Visitors

Due To Pandemic, Says WTTC.” Hospitalitynet, 3 September 2020.

https://www.hospitalitynet.org/news/4100453.html#:~:text=According%20to%20

WTTC%27s%202020%20Economic,13%25%20to%20the%20Italian%20econom

y. Accessed 6 March 2022.

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https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-09-05/italy-s-economy-to-grow-at

-least-5-8-this-year-minister-says
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