Italy
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The Italian outbound market Outbound travel from Italy has seen intermittent, but steady, growth over the last few years and it currently ranks 7th in the world in terms of spend on international travel. Holiday habits are changing (in a similar way to other Mediterranean countries) – with more and more people choosing to holiday abroad rather than stay in Italy, as has been the tradition. Holidays are becoming an increasingly important part of life for many Italians and the trend of growth in the market is expected to continue. In general, Italians spend well on their holidays, enjoying good hotels and restaurants. Their preference for touring and city holidays and key motivations of visiting new places and learning about the culture fit well with Scotland’s offer. Scotland’s visitors The number of holidays to Scotland by Italian visitors has been growing in recent years, and in 2006, Italy was ranked 6th in terms of total spend. Growth can be expected to continue with the good product fit and increased flight links, however there is the downside that it is, at present, a very summer-focused market. Marketing Activities In Italy we target couples aged 25-55, generally travelling without children, and who live in the northern region, from where we have direct flight links. VisitScotland has created two Italian language websites - one aimed at touring Scotland and the other at taking city breaks in Edinburgh and Glasgow. Italians have a positive image of Scotland developed through product associations such as whisky and salmon, but also a perception of Scotland as an expensive destination, so offering good quality value for money services is key to capturing this market. Our main marketing activity is focused on driving potential visitors to these websites and encouraging them to leave us their contact details so that we may continue to engage with them. Italians have proved to be a very receptive European market in terms of online marketing activity. VisitScotland also works directly with the Italian travel trade, helping them develop and enhance their Scotland tourism products.
The Visitor Experience survey asked our summer visitors about their holiday experience in Scotland. Summaries of the overall and country specific findings are available. To find out about our marketing activities in Italy and how you can become involved, please visit our Marketing Opportunities section. Useful links: A profile of the Italian market is also available from VisitBritain. Other information on Italian travel can be found on the following websites (much of the information is in Italian.) |
