Spending by foreign tourists in Italy is flying, thanks mainly to growth in arrivals. In 2023, as the Bank of Italy explains, revenues rose 17 percent and the tourism balance recorded a surplus of 20.2 billion, up from 2022 (18.2 billion). As a percentage of GDP, the surplus rose to 1.0 percent, the same as in 2019. Tourism revenue increased against 2022 by 17 percent.

In December 2023 alone, Italy's tourism balance of payments posted a surplus of 0.7 billion euros, up from the balanced balance recorded in the same month of 2022. Spending by foreign travelers in Italy (amounting to 2.8 billion) grew 40 percent year-on-year. Thus, driving the overall increase in foreign tourist spending in the Belpaese were non-EU tourists.