Recently Istat, the Italian national statistics bureau explains that 5.6 million US citizens come to Italy every year, with July being the most preferred month for these tourists to visit this country.
Even though in Italy, Americans account for only three percent of all tourism, they tend to be some of the biggest spenders altogether.
Italy is reportedly the most popular European country for the wealthy US travelers. These wealthy US adults are free from family ties – and they love Italy as the second-most popular destination.
In spite of the financial impact, two thirds of Italians asserted that they don’t want Americans to return this summer because of the current spurt in infection in the US.
The decision to keep out travelers from few selective countries, like the United States, has been taken on basis of infection rates. Other countries whose tourists have been stopped from entering Italy are Brazil and Russia.
Italian tourist board Enit reports a rise in hotel bookings from the US for September and October, and says US visitors will be among the first back – once they get a permission to travel to Italy – due to their “affection for Italy.”
But with the rise in the number of new cases in the US, and many Italian voters supporting the current travel ban, it’s not sue when the Italian government will allow tourists from the US.
Here are the names of few cities in Italy which get the most US tourism and a look at how each one of them are being affected:
Well-known for its white and multi-coloured houses perched on the rocky coastline, it doesn’t need much effort to understand why Italy’s Amalfi coast has long been a much preferred destination among American visitors.
The world famous beauty of the villages of Sorrento, Positano and Amalfi is known to everyone but now, businesses here are going through challenges due to the loss of most of its summer tourism.
Rome, the Italian capital is the biggest destination for majority of American visitors, and it gets about 6.8 percent of all tourism into Italy from abroad.
Large portion of this Italian city centre are usually given over to tourism, and many of the most famous piazzas stood empty during this lockdown period in this ancient city
“I”ve been out of work since February. The hotel lost almost all of its bookings before the lockdown began, as most customers are American or Chinese, and they cancelled their bookings for this year” said Mario, who had worked as a waiter at a central Rome hotel for the past four years.
“The hotel has reopened now but with very few staff, and very few guests,” he told The Local. “It’s a luxury hotel and I don’t think many Italians would pay those prices. So unless a lot of foreign visitors return very soon, I will not have my old job back.”
For American tourists, the second-biggest destination is Venice, followed by Milan. Central areas stood deserted with zero tourists under lockdown, in a city where locals have been more and more leaving their homes to enjoy vacation rentals
Tuscany, the famous central-northern region and its capital Florence have been a the most preferred destinations among US visitors for decades – and are also a popular destination for the students from America as well as US citizens who own second homes in Italy.
The famous Chianti area is mainly impacted by these pandemic, say local business owners – though some of them claim that this is a chance for towns in the region to move away from a growing reliance on mass tourism.
