The year 2014 was another
unstable one for Italian tourism obliging hotel companies to
work on a short-term basis without being able to plan
investments or increase staff, sector sources said Friday.
Foreign tourists continued to make Italy a popular
destination but there was only a tiny recovery in domestic
tourism by Italians (up by 0.6%), meaning that the large number
of hotels relying on Italian guests continued to suffer from the
recession.
So 2014 also ended with a mixed balance sheet for the
Italian tourist hotel system and hopes for a positive turning
point are pinned on the Milan Expo trade fair that is now
imminent.
"Italian tourism closed its accounts for 2014 with further
reductions in turnover and the number of rooms occupied," said
the president of Federalberghi, Bernabò Bocca.
"It was a year of alternating current. Foreign tourists
once again proved their attachment to our country with a growth
of 1.5% in hotel presences consolidating a result equal to an
increase of 6.8% in the last three years, while Italian demand
remained solidly stuck below the levels of 2011 (making a period
that amounts to 7.65% fewer night stays)".
The difference is all the more marked when examining the
monthly details - Italian tourism had negative indicators for
seven months in 12 last year, with significant surges of demand
in April (up 7.7%), in May (up 7.1%), and in December (5.6%).
Uncertainty also prevailed on the labour market, with 1.17%
fewer workers employed in tourist hotels in 2014, (the decline
was by 4% in 2013), but for permanent job contracts the annual
figure fell by as much as 3.2% while temporary jobs fell by
0.2%.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED © Copyright ANSA
