(Finance) – In the cold of Holland, at minus 5 degrees, Italian warmth arrives with the stand Enit’s Italy at Vakantiebeurs – Utrechtthe international event that promotes leisure, active and outdoor tourism. The National Tourism Agency brings to the fair, until January 15th, over 50 operators as well as partners such as Ita, the Municipality of Naples and five regions: Umbria, Piedmont, Liguria and Trentino to promote the Peninsula in the Netherlands. To remember the Italian magnificence there is the Venus on a Bicycle at the Colosseum and some large suspended lanterns. Leisure and outdoor tourism is becoming increasingly popular around the world, and it is essential to develop and promote it.
“Leisure tourism, being focused on personal well-being, can increase the satisfaction and appreciation of visitors, making their holidays unforgettable. This can lead to a increase in the number of tourists who return to a particular destination, thus contributing to its long-term popularity and prosperity. Through outdoor tourism, visitors can also develop new skills and abilities, such as navigation, survival in the wild and orientation. Promoting outdoor tourism can help preserve the natural environment, as it can raise visitor awareness of the importance of nature conservation and encourage environmentally friendly behavior. Furthermore, outdoor tourism can bring economic benefits to local communities, as it can generate income and create jobs. Developing and promoting leisure and outdoor tourism is essential for the well-being of visitors, the conservation of the environment, the enhancement of cultural heritage and the economic growth of local communities. Governments, tourism organisations, industry operators and local communities should therefore work together to support and promote this type of tourism, to ensure a sustainable future for our planet and future generations”, he states Ivana Jelinic President and CEO Enit.
According to the ENIT Research Office on ENIT/Euromedia Research data – 1,013 interviews, for the Dutch, tourism is the main motivation for coming to Italy (90.6%). The main desire is to take a cultural holiday (33.0%), at the lake (17.2%), at the seaside (15.2%) and in the mountains (11.2%), towards destinations such as Rome, Tuscany , Milan, Florence, Venice, Lake Garda, Sicily. 55.3% of the Dutch have already been to Italy 3 times or more (39.6% more than 3 times; 15.7% 3 times), 21.6% 2 times, 22.6% only once .
Among the reasons that led to visiting the Bel Paese, the landscape and nature stand out (53.6%), the presence of palaces, monuments and museums (48.2%), the typical food and wine (37.8%). In 2023, there will be 155,400 air passengers coming from the Netherlands to Italy, up by approximately +20% compared to 2022, with a booking window of 40 days. The greatest concentration of arrivals occurs in June and October when it reaches 11%. The average length of stay is 4 nights which in 13% of cases extends up to a week.
The main routes involve the airports of Amsterdam Rome FCO (31.7%), Milan LIN (24.5%) and Venice (7.5%). In December, arrivals are currently 8,800 (5.7% of the total) and are growing by +14.3% compared to 2022, with a turnout of 23.2% in the week before Christmas. (Source: ENIT Research Office on Data Appeal data relating to GDS only).
In 2022 the number of outgoing trips from the Netherlands is over 23 million, almost double compared to 2021 (+99.6%) and approximately 3.0% more than in 2019. In 93.0% of cases these are trips abroad made for personal reasons (compared to 7.0% for work), of which 84.7% were for holidays. (Source: ENIT Research Office on Eurostat data).
In Italian accommodation establishments, overnight stays by Dutch people, equal to 10,806,700, increased by +42.5% in 2022 compared to 2021 and by +4.7% compared to 2019. In non-hotel accommodation establishments there was approximately 70.0 % of attendance. Source: ENIT Research Office on ISTAT data. In 2022, a significant annual increase also affected the tourist spending incurred by the Dutch on trips abroad: approximately 18.7 billion US dollars, 77.1% more than in 2021 (-8.5% on 2019). (Source: ENIT Research Office on UNWTO data).
Overall, Dutch people traveling to Italy in 2022 spend around 2.2 billion euros (+76.5% on 2021), of which 76.6% for holidays (+87.5% on 2021) and 8.2% for visiting relatives and family. Also in this area, seaside resorts, lakeside resorts, cities of art and the mountains are among the most popular Italian destinations. (Source: ENIT Research Office based on Bank of Italy data).