Culture driving Italy's tourism boom, new report says

 

Cultural experiences remain a major driver of tourism to Italy, but the country’s visitor economy is increasingly concentrated in a limited number of destinations, a new report reveals. 

The annual Federculture Report, Cultural Enterprise – The Culture that Changes Territories was presented at Italy’s Ministry of Culture in Rome earlier this month and highlights the growing importance of cultural tourism while warning that its economic and social benefits are unevenly distributed across the country.

Italy recorded 476.4 million overnight visitor stays in 2025, up 2.2% from 2024 and 9.8% above pre-Covid pandemic 2019 levels. 

But almost two-thirds of those stays were concentrated in just 1,024 municipalities (equivalent to only 13% of Italy’s municipalities) identified as destinations with strong cultural and scenic assets.

These cultural destinations accounted for 63% of all overnight stays, reinforcing the central role that museums, historic cities, UNESCO World Heritage sites and cultural landscapes continue to play in attracting visitors, news hub Travel Mole reported.

Foreign visitors now represent more than 55% of tourism in Italy’s cultural territories, rising to 58% in municipalities with a strong cultural vocation and 73% in the country’s major art cities.

The report also highlighted growing public participation in cultural activities. In 2025, 48.2% of Italians went to the cinema, while 35.8% visited museums and exhibitions, up from 33.6% a year earlier. Theatre attendance reached 24.3% of the population.

“The growth in audiences confirms that demand for culture in Italy is strong,” said Andrea Cancellato, president of Federculture. 

He called for more stable support for the sector, including strengthening initiatives such as the Art Bonus and the Culture Fund, to reduce regional inequalities and help cultural organizations meet growing demand.

Image: Pisa

Air New Zealand flags cancellations as well as airfare increases

Earlier this week we reported bad news for flyers with the increase in the price of jet fuel leading Air New Zealand becoming the first international airline to increase airfares in a bid to offset challenging operating costs. 

Air New Zealand confirmed that it has implemented fare changes, saying that if the conflict in the Middle East continues, it would take further pricing action.

Now the airline is flagging flight cancellations.

Air NZ is set to cancel around 1100 flights affecting thousands of passengers through until early May.

Air NZ chief executive Nikhil Ravishankar told Radio New Zealand’s Morning Report that between now and the end of April/early May the airline will cancel around 1100 flights.

In that period the airline will carry around 1.9 million passengers, so 44,000 passengers will be affected by flight cancellations, he said. Most of the passengers will be moved to flights on the same day.

The exact flights cancelled have not yet been announced.

Services would be cut "proportionally across the board", meaning both domestic and international, but no routes would be cut altogether. Off-peak services would be the focus of the cuts, he said.

So you can thank President Trump's "pre-emptive" action for that. 

IATA’s weekly monitoring of jet fuel prices has revealed a 58% rise from US$99.40 to US$157 a barrel on last week. 

Air New Zealand also pointed to an increasingly volatile spread in the difference between crude oil and the price of refined jet fuel. 

“Since the conflict began, the crack spread has been particularly volatile, widening from approximately US$22 per barrel before the conflict to as high as US$115 per barrel,” Air New Zealand said in a statement. 

"As a result, the airline has suspended its 2026 [earnings] guidance for the foreseeable future, with the crisis expected to 'meaningfully affect' its second-half earnings." 

Network and schedule adjustments were also flagged. The share prices for both Qantas and Virgin Australia both dropped this week on the back of the jet fuel crisis before rallying. 

Tourists can't get enough of Japan

Visitation to Japan hit an all-time high in the 2024 calendar year.

Japan's inbound tourism figures saw the Asian nation welcomed 36.87 million tourists - up by more than 15% on 2019’s previous best of 31.88 million people, Japan National Tourism Organisation data shows.

Major growth markets were South Korea and the US, both up nearly 60%, although the number of visitors from mainland China was down 27%, news portal Travel Mole reported.

Major Japanese travel agency group JTB has said it expects inbound Japan tourism to surpass 40 million for the first time in 2025.

Tourism-related spending by foreign visitors reached a record Y8.14 trillion ($US 52 billion) in 2024.

This is a 69% increase on pre-pandemic 2019.

*The number of foreign visitors to Japan is calculated based on immigration statistics compiled by the Ministry of Justice.

Tourism to Vietnam on the up

Vietnam is rapidly bouncing back as an Asian tourism destination.

The number of international tourists visiting Vietnam saw an impressive double digit jump in 2024, new portal Travel Mole reports.

Vietnam welcomed nearly 17.6 million tourist arrivals, data from the General Statistics Office reveals.

That is up nearly 40% on 2023 and just a little short of the pre-pandemic 2019 level.

More liberal visa policies and new airline options from carriers including Vietjet helped boost numbers in 2024.

The vast majority, nearly 15 million, of foreign tourists arrived by air.

In the opposite direction, the number of Vietnamese going overseas rose 5% to 5.3 million in 2024.

The agency said the tourism industry will fully recover to pre-pandemic levels this year, with Vietnam welcoming about 22 million international visitors.

Asia continues to dominates inbound tourism source markets.

South Korea was top in 2024, with nearly 4.57 million arrivals, up 27% from 2023. China ranked second with nearly 3.74 million arrivals.

Other top markets include Malaysia, Australia, Thailand and Cambodia.

Image: Hoan Kiem Lake, Hanoi: Winsor Dobbin 

New Zealand’s really dumb tourism move

New Zealand is a long way from just about anywhere on the planet.

It is not only remote; it is time-consuming and expensive to get to.

It is beautiful when you arrive, but its location is certainly a deterrrent for many visitors.

So what has the New Zealand government - apparently not the brightest sparks in the tool shed - decided to do? Increase taxes on tourists.

Yep. Travellers to New Zealand will soon have to shell out more to visit the country.

Tourist fees are almost tripling from October.

The International Visitor Conservation and Tourism Levy will soar to NZ$100 from NZ$35 from October 1.

The government says the massive hike will "ensure visitors contribute to public services and high-quality experiences while visiting New Zealand".

But the increase could [that means will] deter many would-be travellers, says Tourism Industry Aotearoa.

“New Zealand’s tourism recovery is falling behind the rest of the world, and this will further dent our competitiveness,” Rebecca Ingram, the TIA chief executive, said.

New Zealand first introduced the levy in 2019.

Tourism Minister Matt Doocey says it won’t be a big deterrent, as it makes up only a small percentage of the average travel budget to new Zealand. less than 3% of most tourists’ average spend in the country.

Doocey, who sounds like a bit of a dill, said the advice he had received was that there would be no "significant" decrease in visitor numbers, contrary to what tourism industry has said.

"The advice that I've received from officials is there is no evidence that the increase of the IVL will have significant impact on visitor numbers.

"In fact... most tourism operators are telling me that they're getting higher yield from their products and delivering better-quality experiences."

Interestingly, Doocey has no tourism experience, but has worked in mental health.

Thankfully travellers from Australia and the Pacific are exempt from paying the tourist fee.

Those from other parts of the world may well opt for somewhere where they are more welcome.

“It has been a double whammy for the New Zealand travel and tourism sector, starting with New Zealand Immigration announcing steep increases in visa fees, and now the increase in the IVL,” said Dr. Xie Xingquan, IATA’s regional vice president for North Asia and Asia-Pacific.

Cruise Lines International Association Australasia also recently criticised the New Zealand government’s proposal to impose a triple digit hike in cruise related fees.