[#11] Italy Overtourism? / Broken Experiences / Social Media x Hospitality
This month's recap of travel stories, tourism trends and news
In my monthly newsletters I'm wearing the traveler's and tourism insider’s hat to unpack travel & hospitality topics. Find out more about me here.
Enjoy reading!
#1 - Overtourism in Italy: Is it a real problem?
With 64.1 mln visitors in 2023, Italy is one of the most visited destinations worldwide.
But with tourism going back to pre-pandemic levels in 2024, some cities announced measures to fight or prevent overtourism (like the tourist tax in Venice, or a fee to visit the Trevi Fountain in Rome).
Are these isolated cases?
Last week I’ve attended the TTG Experience tourism fair in Italy, where sustainable tourism and overtourism were some of the leading topics.
According to one keynote, 48.1% of all international arrivals to Italy are actually concentrated in just 6 regions, leaving 14 regions welcoming the other half of all visitors.
Furthermore, more than half of all international travelers in 2023 visited Italy during peak season (June-September), leaving some gaps during the remaining months.
In my experience, traveling to less known destinations in Italy during low season wasn’t always easy -for example, due to fewer direct flights.
But in most cases, it was the best way to discover the “hidden” side of some regions.
If you're looking for some inspiration, these are two great examples:
#2 - Travel experiences are worth $1 trillion. But is the journey broken?
According to a report by McKinsey, desire for great experiences is becoming one of the main drivers for travelers when choosing destinations.
But searching and booking activities like excursions can be frustrating:
Too many options to choose from
Mismatch between expectations and reality
Payment hurdles (methods, currencies)
Does that sound familiar?
As an example, here’s a real story that happened to me while I was traveling in Bolivia:
One day I found myself stranded in a remote town in the desert. I was waiting for my 3-day excursion to Salar de Uyuni to begin -but the tour guide never showed up!
I had spent considerable time looking for the best provider among a myriad of options, comparing prices, contacting the operators, and traveled thousands of km by plane and by bus just to get there.
Eventually, the excursion started later, with a different guide that didn’t speak English and after re-negotiating the price. And still, it was a memorable experience.
But this episode highlighted that indeed, the traveler journey still isn’t smooth.
Did you ever have bad surprises with activities or excursions booked before a trip?
(Read the full research by McKinsey here)
#3 - Social Media & Hospitality (Part 2)
Remember this quote?
"I don't have time to post on social media. It’s time consuming and I need to focus on more urgent things like X and Y."
In my last newsletter I outlined the 4 reasons why some hotels struggle with social media.
My first advice: Develop a clear marketing strategy and objectives.
I know, this may sound boring and abstract -but it’s a fundamental step in ensuring you have a “north star” across all channels, including social media.
Here’s an example: An independent hotel was barely using its social media channels to engage with followers, except for a few updates once in a while.
Within just a few months, they managed to increase their reach to 32,000+ potential guests and more than doubled their engagement rate across Facebook and Instagram.
Most importantly, contact requests and bookings during the same period increased, too.
How? As a first step, I helped them setting clear marketing objectives and KPIs for their social media channels, that closely aligned with their overall marketing strategy.
But that’s not all, of course: In my next newsletters I’ll share more advice for hotels and tourism businesses that want to achieve growth across digital channels.
Curious to know more, or need advice for your business? Drop me a message.
#4 - Other travel news
Reggio Calabria (Italy) and Tartu (Estonia) top the list of Skyscanner's 2025 trending destinations
Google will allow users to add U.S. passports to its digital wallet