Foreign visitors boost italian economy

It's fair to say that Italy has had something of a bumpy ride over the past few years. Although the path to economic prosperity is proving to be a long and winding one, there are numerous rays of hope for the boot-shaped country, with the most recent figures indicating that Italy's property market could finally be on the up once more.

Recent data from the Nomisma economic research institute has shown that both residential and commercial property transactions in Italy increased during Q1 2014. Nomisma's Real Estate Market Report registered an increase in nationwide sales of 4.1% for the quarter compared to the same period in 2013.

Foreign income from tourism is also boosting Italy's economy, with the US, Australia and China all providing plentiful long-haul visitors according to figures from the Bank of Italy and the Centre National Tourist Unioncamere-ISNART, with an increase of 5.1% in organised international travel forecast. Visitors from the US during 2013 accounted for a total of 30.61 million overnight stays in Italian accommodation - 9.5% of the total number of foreign overnight stays.

The news has been welcomed by those in the property sector, as Dawn Cavanagh-Hobbs, founder of fractional ownership company Appassionata (whose holiday homes contributed to this figure), confirms: "The past few years have been tough for Italy and it's great to see property sales figures heading in the right direction again. There are some real bargains on the market right now and there is a buzz of excitement about the sector once more."