Food and wine tourism in Italy: 12 billion euros in 2017

The number one reason tourists travel to Italy on holidays is Made in Italy food and wine, which alone attracts 1 in 4 tourists (22.3% Italians and 29.9% foreigners), which is more than the wealth of our cultural heritage and the various events proposed. It has been estimated that in 2017 the number of visitors related to food and wine tourism was over 110 million and their economic impact exceeded 12 billion euros - 15.1% of the total for tourism, the third spending item after accomodations (almost 24 billion euros) and restaurants/ bars / cafes (over 17.4 billion euros) - 57% lodging for foreigners (63 million) and the remainder Italian (47 million), but Italians spent more than foreigners (7.3 billion euros compared to 4.9 billion). These are the numbers from Isnart-Unioncamere, the first Food & Wine Tourism Forum at Castello di Grinzane Cavour, UNESCO Heritage in the UNESCO Langhe, which was presented by an exceptional panel of speakers. According to the data, tastings are more and more at the center of holidays (13.1% tourists) in the growing demand for food and wine itineraries, and as much as 58.2% of those interviewed said while visiting a territory they would buy a local product, while more than 6 out of 10 were willing to spend between 20 and 50 euros.