Italy ranks in top 5 of world tourist destinations

In the forthcoming two years, Italy will be among the five most chosen destinations by tourists from all over the world, on par with Thailand (3%) and behind Japan, the United States (9%) and Australia (7%).

This is what emerged from the latest Visa Global Travel Intentions, conducted by Visa on a sample of 13,500 respondents from 27 countries across the globe.

In Europe, Italy stands at the 2nd position with 20% of preferences after Spain (24%). In the United States, Italy shares its position with France (15%). In the EMEA region, Italy conquers 4th place at par with Turkey (6%).

The average amount of travel per trip is increasing: both in Europe, where the individual spending of 952 euros is expected to rise to 1,143 euros (+20%), and globally, where 1,455 euros should reach 1,982 euros (+ 6%).

The top five spenders will be Saudi Arabia (3,895 euros), China (3,273 euros), Australia (2,863 euros), the USA (2,840 euros), and Kuwait (2,819 euros). And if to drive is the choice for the next trip, on the European front, the search for the good season and a rich tradition or culture (both at 38%) of cultural travel worldwide is expected to increase to 38%.

Travelers are increasingly using technology via online searches which have increased from 78% in 2015 to 83% in 2017, while offline ones have dropped from 82% to 47%. The devices used in the planning phase are computers (80%), mobile devices (41%), and tablets (25%). Travel is mainly booked through online platforms, prevailing Booking in Europe (21%) and TripAdvisor in the world (18%).

Credit cards are the preferred payment method for both Europeans and the rest of the world, with percentages of 65% and 75% respectively. Among the emerging solutions, the best known in Europe are Paypal (74%) and Apple Pay (29%).

“Practical use, speed, and wide acceptance on a global level make the Visa card the ideal payment method for the 21st-century traveler,” commented Davide Steffanini, Visa’s general manager for Italy, saying it is “not only safer but also cheaper: the transactions of purchase are always converted at official exchange rates.”

Finally, according to the study, 92% of survey participants confirmed that they plan to execute almost all mobile payments by 2020.