Tourism: Rome Generates $8.5 Billion in Wealth

Tourism, cities are thriving: the 2025 edition of the report "The Wealth of Tourist Municipalities," produced by Sociometrica for Il Sole 24 Ore, confirms the Italian scenario depicted in the last 2023 report. Based on official attendance (ISTAT data) and an estimate of "hidden" attendance related to short-term rentals, it calculates tourist spending on accommodation, transportation, retail, cultural services, and everything else. In 2024, Rome thus ranks first in Italy for added value generated by tourism, with €13.3 billion (€8.5 billion in 2022). Milan comes in second with €4.7 billion (€3.6 billion in 2022), followed by Venice with €3.4 billion (€3.4 billion), Florence with €3 billion (€2.5 billion), Rimini, and Naples with approximately €1.5 billion each (stable compared to 2023). This podium remains unchanged since the last survey.

Rounding out the top ten are the Venetian municipalities of Cavallino-Treporti (with €1.4 billion in wealth generated), San Michele al Tagliamento (also €1.4 billion), and Jesolo, all of which are linked to their strong accommodation offerings, including non-hotel accommodations such as campsites. Bologna closes the ranking with €1.2 billion.

"Amid a general growth trend, which sees total added value rise from €115.5 billion in 2023 to €117.1 billion in 2024, the primacy of a city like Rome is confirmed, not only in terms of tourism in the strict sense, but also in terms of attracting a whole range of related industries, from business to sports. Over the past ten years, hotel innovation, investments in this sector and in technology, along with broader economic dynamics, also supported by public investment, have benefited cities," explains Antonio Preiti, the study's curator and professor of destination management at the University of Florence. The cities' "multi-range" offerings, which include culture, sports, music, shopping, employment, education, and a lively year-round appeal, are recognized.

This reading is confirmed by the tourist presence figures in the major destinations examined between 2014 and 2024. The city with the most significant increase is Bari (+125.1%), followed by Bergamo (+117.4%)—the Italian capital of culture along with Brescia in 2023—Como (+97.9%), Lecce (+93.8%), Trieste (+93.5%), Bologna (+92%), Verona (+84.6%), Rome itself (+80%), Bolzano (+68%), and Bressanone (+64.1%). "On the one hand, cities, Alpine resorts, and lakes in the North are growing. On the other, seaside resorts are suffering. Of the ten destinations that recorded the worst tourism performances between 2014 and 2024, eight are seaside destinations. In particular, Grosseto and Cattolica show significant declines, equal to -14.4% and -12.6% respectively, as well as negative figures for Rosolina (-6.9%), Ischia (-6.3%), San Vincenzo (-2.4%) and Orbetello (-1.7%), up to Rimini ( -0.8%), the symbol of Italian seaside tourism", Preiti further observes: "These data suggest a strong need for a strategic rethinking of the offering of traditional seaside resorts, incentivizing investments not only in infrastructure, but also and above all in new experiential tourism products, digital innovation and environmental sustainability".

The phenomenon of short-term rentals also impacts the wealth generation of tourist destinations. The Sociometrica study estimates that in 2024, 32,287 accommodations were offered on digital platforms in Rome, up from 18,966 in 2021. In Milan, 18,491 (12,658), in Florence 12,167 (up from 8,318), in Naples 9,444 (up from 6,609), and in Venice 8,102 (up from 7,474), to name the cities with the highest numbers. "It's a phenomenon driven by the second-home model in the South, which previously perhaps had an informal circuit and are now being brought to the market via platforms. They're a problem in large cities because homes for workers and students are no longer available. In small towns, they generate an economy that lives for 3-4 weeks a year: they don't create businesses, they don't generate income like a hotel can, they leave an income," explains Preiti: "Syracuse has 3,177 homes offered on the platforms compared to 61 hotels, Olbia has 2,958 compared to 68, Alghero 2,336 compared to 45, Sorrento 2,007 compared to 82. It's a model that doesn't generate wealth. It emerged a few years ago but is now exploding."