Travel & Tourism Injected €215BN into Italy’s Economy

The World Travel & Tourism Council’s (WTTC) 2024 Economic Impact Research (EIR) has revealed today a much slower recovery of Germany’s Travel & Tourism sector compared to other key European destinations. The data shows domestic tourism is propping up the sector in Germany, but international travel spend in Germany remains below pre-pandemic levels.

Overtourism has been affecting cities, towns, and picturesque spots worldwide, and some local officials are starting to take measures to stop it.

The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) is forecasting an historic year for Canada’s Travel & Tourism sector this year, with the economic contribution set to reach an all-time high of almost $182BN. Reaching $182.1BN in 2024 represents an additional $8.1BN over its previous peak, affirming the sector’s significant role as an economic force, responsible for generating one in every 15 dollars of economic activity.

I haven’t ever gone through border control dressed in beachwear, but one day last June I found myself doing just that, as I crossed from France into Italy, ready for a day at the Spiaggetta dei Balzi Rossi, one of Italy’s legendary beach clubs.

Hotel Mediterraneo in Sorrento evolves from a 3-star to a 5-star luxury destination, offering opulent accommodations and Michelin-star dining with stunning views of Mount Vesuvius.

The travel and tourism sector observed a 13.5% decline in deal volume from January to April 2024, with 217 deals compared to 251 in the same period last year.

The WTTC, in partnership with IC Bellagio, launches the Community Conscious Travel campaign, promoting sustainable tourism and empowering communities to balance tourism with environmental stewardship.

Connecting Travel Marketplace, formerly Global Travel Marketplace, is set to expand with new editions in the UK and Italy, enhancing its role in connecting high-spend travel industry professionals. This evolution aligns with Jacobs Media’s 15th anniversary and aims to boost global travel business opportunities.

Award-winning PR & Social Media agency tapped as AOR for Corendon Hotels & Resorts; Agency also hired to drive U.S. PR efforts for Global Citizen Solutions.

For a food that begins with just flour, water or sometimes eggs, there are infinite variations of pasta. So what happens when you convene a panel of five Italian cuisine experts and ask them to determine the 25 pasta dishes throughout Italy? “I’m sweating,” said Davide Palluda, the chef and owner of All’Enoteca restaurant and osteria in the Piedmont region. “This is too heavy,” he joked during the two-hour video call that I convened to debate his nominations and those of the four other panelists: Stefano Secchi, the chef and a co-owner of New York City’s Rezdôra; the Tuscany-based cookbook author Emiko Davies; the Umbria-based culinary historian Karima Moyer-Nocchi; and the food writer and novelist Roberta Corradin, who lives in Florence, Sicily and Boston. A week before our call, I’d asked each to make their own list of 10 standouts (since he was a panelist, Palluda’s restaurants were automatically excluded); after an energetic debate and several more phone calls, emails and WhatsApp messages, we whittled that list in half. The final picks appear below in unranked alphabetical order, along with the ideal wine to drink with each pasta dish, as recommended by the chosen restaurants and reviewed by Davies’s husband, the sommelier Marco Lami.

As tourists flock to Italy this summer, it may be tough to snag a reservation at one of the 146 hotels recently recognized with “Michelin Keys.”

“Rimini is my home. I grew up in Cattolica, a nearby village, and I’m incredibly proud of this region of Italy. It’s an often-overlooked part of the country, but there is so much to explore in this area, from the food to the beaches, the culture and, most importantly, the people. There is an easiness to Rimini that makes you feel like a local even when you are just visiting.”