Italy has seen a rapid growth in its tourism industry ever since the European favourite reopened for international tourism. A latest survey by WTTC says tourism in the country could get back to 2019 levels in all aspects by 2023.

A new survey conducted by the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) says Italy’s travel and tourism sector will provide a significant boost to the country’s economic recovery and could almost reach pre-pandemic levels next year, staying just 0.3 pc below 2019 levels.

The latest forecast from WTTC’s Economic Impact Report (EIR) shows the sector’s contribution to GDP could reach more than EUR 194 billion next year, while employment in the sector could also hit pre-pandemic levels.

The global tourism body also says that the travel and tourism sector will grow at an annual average rate of 2.5 pc for the next 10 years, five times the 0.5 pc growth rate of the overall Italian economy. It will be worth over EUR 226 billion by 2032.

The forecast also reveals the travel and tourism sector in Italy is expected to create more half a million (533,000) jobs in the next 10 years, averaging more than 53,000 new jobs every year.

In 2022, the sector’s contribution to GDP is expected to grow 8.7 pc to more than EUR 176 billion, representing 9.6 pc of the total economic GDP, while employment in the sector is set to grow by 2 pc to reach almost 2.7 million jobs.

“The pandemic was catastrophic for Italy’s travel and tourism sector, wiping billions from the economy as businesses collapsed, and thousands of people lost their jobs. After two very difficult years, the outlook is now much brighter. Travel and tourism’s projections provide a massive boost, not only to Italy’s overall economy, but to the creation of new jobs,” says Julia Simpson, WTTC President & CEO.

WTTC says that before the pandemic, when travel and tourism was at its peak, the total contribution to GDP was 10.6 pc (EUR 194.8 billion) in 2019, falling to just 6.1 pc (EUR 102.6 billion) in 2020, representing a painful 47.3 pc loss.

The sector also supported nearly 2.9 million jobs, before an almost complete halt to international travel resulted in a loss of more than 400,000 (15.4 pc), to reach just over 2.4 million in 2020.

WTTC’s latest EIR report also reveals that 2021 saw the beginning of the recovery for the country’s travel and tourism sector. Last year, its contribution to GDP climbed a positive 58.5 pc year on year to reach EUR 162.6 billion, while employment in the sector grew 9.4 pc, to reach more than 2.6 million.

The sector’s contribution to the economy and employment could have been higher if it weren’t for the impact of the Omicron variant, which led to the recovery faltering around the world, with many countries reinstating severe travel restrictions.