Tourists in Italy spent on aggregate between €20 billion and €22 billion in the country’s stores in 2024, according to a study by Risposte Turismo (RT), a market research and consulting firm active in the tourist industry, drawing on data from the Bank of Italy, Mastercard and Istat.
RT presented the study at the eighth edition of Shopping Tourism, the reference trade event in Italy for this type of tourism, developed and organised by RT in partnership with Enit and under the patronage of the Ministry of Tourism and of Mimit, the Ministry for business and made-in-Italy [sic]. According to the estimates contained in the new edition of Shopping Tourism Italian Monitor, presented on March 5 by Francesco Di Cesare, president of RT, last year 2.4 million tourists (up 14% over 2023) travelled to Italy with shopping their main reason for visiting.
Milano
The study showed that 8 out of 10 French tourists who travel for shopping have done so at least once in Italy, and that US tourists chiefly look for small local artisanal shops. The upswing in shopping tourism to Italy reflected the renewed increase in tourism flows from Asia, notably from China – the main source of shopping tourism to Italy – as well as the sustained spending capacity of U.S. tourists (in 2024, they spent 9% more than in 2023 on tax free shopping), and the continued inflow of UK tourists, especially towards Italy’s leading shopping destinations, like Milan, Rome, Florence and Venice.
In 2024, outlet stores in Italy, among the main shopping tourism destinations, increased their total retail area by 6% over the previous year, reaching 800,000 square metres. In the ranking of outlet village operators in Italy, Promos rose to top spot in terms of retail area, with approximately 170,000 square metres in its six outlet villages. Promos recently acquired two new centres (Barberino Outlet and Brugnato 5 Terre Outlet Village), carving out a 22% share of the national total.
RT’s study identified 80 associations of high street retailers in Italy, active in developing and implementing local promotional projects for the benefit of their members. The study noted that the number of department stores in Italy has decreased, following the closure of several branches in the centre-north of the country.
Shopping malls were in the past less of a destination for shopping tourism, but are now more and more popular. RT’s study identified 1,346 malls active throughout Italy.
Finally, the study identified more than 1,000 heritage stores and workshops in the five cities (Rome, Milan, Genoa, Bologna and Palermo) adopting comparable criteria to classify these historic businesses. They are all authentic examples of Italy’s history, art, culture, manufacturing know-how, and entrepreneurship, and remain a benchmark in the country’s retail landscape.
