Italy braced for tourism boom

Foreign tourist arrivals in Italy are forecast to increase by 3.5% year-on-year in 2008, according to a new study...

A drop in tourist arrivals from central European countries will be compensated by a rise in tourist arrivals from northern European countries, according to the study by tourist research Centre CISET, Ca Foscari University in Venice and ENI’s Enrico Mattei foundation(FEEM).

The number of tourists from Scandinavian countries will rise by 8.8% and the number of tourists from Ireland will increase by 5.6%, the study said. Tourist arrivals from southeastern Asia, China and Eastern Europe will grow by 7.3% and the number of tourist arrivals from Canada, the USA and Japan will climb by 5.5%, 3.8% and 3.4%, respectively.

More than 21 million Italian tourists will travel abroad, up 2.2%. The number of Italian tourists who will visit northern Europe and Ireland is forecast to rise by 2.6%.