I honestly thought that most tourists go to Italy for the beaches. Not sure if this graphic takes into account how long visitors stay, I’d expect beach holiday tourists to stay longer than city tourists on average.
Italy certainly has nice beaches, but I’d be surprised if it’s the primary draw for a lot of people. There are plenty of places with nice beaches on the Med. Two of the three bright red regions on that map aren’t beach destinations (one isn’t even coastal) and Rome itself obviously has heaps going on besides being by the water
Not to mention there are nice beaches on every continent, so they’re much less of an incentive for any non-European tourists. Of course, I doubt non-Europeans are the majority, but still very significant.
In the Americas you have the Caribbean, in Asia you have Bali and Thailand, and even within Europe you have Mallorca, Ibiza and other options.
Meanwhile, only in Italy do you have the Colosseum and all of that famous stuff
Places like Lignano, Bibione, Caorle AFAIK get a lot of beach tourism from Austria. They’re the closest beaches to our unfortunately landlocked country…
There are plenty of places with nice beaches on the Med.
Yes, but Italy is a lot closer to Germany or Switzerland than the Croatian or French mediterranean coast, nevermind Spain or Greece. Distance matters, lots of people still drive to their holiday destinations.
I honestly thought that most tourists go to Italy for the beaches. Not sure if this graphic takes into account how long visitors stay, I’d expect beach holiday tourists to stay longer than city tourists on average.
Italy certainly has nice beaches, but I’d be surprised if it’s the primary draw for a lot of people. There are plenty of places with nice beaches on the Med. Two of the three bright red regions on that map aren’t beach destinations (one isn’t even coastal) and Rome itself obviously has heaps going on besides being by the water
Not to mention there are nice beaches on every continent, so they’re much less of an incentive for any non-European tourists. Of course, I doubt non-Europeans are the majority, but still very significant.
In the Americas you have the Caribbean, in Asia you have Bali and Thailand, and even within Europe you have Mallorca, Ibiza and other options.
Meanwhile, only in Italy do you have the Colosseum and all of that famous stuff
I’m not sure I’d call Rome “by the water.” Ostia is like 15 miles away and a whole separate town.
Places like Lignano, Bibione, Caorle AFAIK get a lot of beach tourism from Austria. They’re the closest beaches to our unfortunately landlocked country…
Yes, but Italy is a lot closer to Germany or Switzerland than the Croatian or French mediterranean coast, nevermind Spain or Greece. Distance matters, lots of people still drive to their holiday destinations.