The tourism spend figures give a different picture compared to the visitor numbers by country. In Europe the order changes to Spain (EUR 42 billion), France (EUR 39 billion), Italy (EUR 31 billion). So if Italy with only 54% of the number of tourists going to France is gaining 80% of the spend, it underlines my theory that the numbers recorded for France may include many more day trippers.
The figures for hotel nights spent in the country by non residents bear this theory out too. Here Italy records 51% more nights than France.
There is another measure called ‘tourism intensity’, defined as %age of total GDP (economic output)contributed by tourism. The top 10 in terms of tourism intensity within the E.U is in descending order Spain, Ireland, Italy, Greece, the Netherlands, Sweden and Luxembourg. There we have it: France does not even figure.
Apologies that this blog is heavy on the numbers. But we have proven that there is more to tourism than simply counting the number of tourists arriving in a country. We have also shown that the combined pulling power of all Italy has to offer-Rome, Venice, Florence, Pisa, Sienna etc-is outperforming France by certain criteria. Let’s call this one a draw!
Roof of the Duomo di Padova
Grand canal in Trieste
The official world tourist statistics show France in No.1 spot in the world rankings with 70 million visitors annually. France is followed by the US, Spain and China respectively. Italy comes in in fifth place with 43 million visitors annually. The rankings and annual number of visitors do not change much year on year, according to these same statistics. And yet something does not seem right here.
How can France outperform the collective attraction of Rome, Florence, Pisa,Venice and Sienna? It is difficult to see from where the French pulling power is derived. For cities, Italy would seem a clear winner. Beach resorts is more of a toss up, while skiing should see victory for France. Could it be that France surrounded by more countries and with many Brits arriving on one day booze cruises counts more day trippers than Italy?
Other statistics claim Venice receives 30 million visitors a year, meaning, if the world tourism rankings are to be believed, there are only an additional 13 million visitors in all the rest of Italy.
Don’t worry: I am not going to let this subject go until I have examined spend and other data to see what lies at the bottom of this mystery. And please comment with your theories.
Pictures above: Ponto Vecchio, Florence and Garisenda and Asinelli Towers in Bologna
Think of busking and Italy probably isn’t the first place you think of for top class acts yet the world’s biggest busking festival takes place in Ferrara in August every year. Perhaps the North East is atypical and the real busking action happens in Rome or Milan. But in the North East, many buskers seem to pride themselves on singing out of tune or be restricted to one or two person acts playing Roma or Italian folk songs rather than anything more adventurous.
International pop star Paolo Nutini probably needs no introduction, but what you may not know is he started out busking in Sauciehall St in Glasgow. A lesser known but now also world-renowned, Italian who began life busking, this time in Covent Garden, is Antonio Forcione. Originally from a small village near Ancona, Forcione has a unique guitar style that defies classification and description. Always accoustic, his music spans and goes beyond jazz, Spanish, African, Brazilian and improvised. If that sounds like your cup of tea, check out his music on Naim CDs, or the usual places like You Tube or his Website.
Whatever the normal standard of busking in North East, the Ferrara Busking Festival http://www.ferrarabuskers.com/en/ is a veritable smorgasbord of all types of acoustic and amplified music and other street art. With most of a million visitors and hundreds of acts, many happening simultaneously, you can just wander from street corner to street corner. The festival opens on August 20th, so it’s a shame the programme is not yet up on the Website. But unless you are a real aficionado, it’s unlikely you would know many of the acts. If you like live music, go, as we did last year, and you will not be disappointed!
