In 2019, the problem was much the same. Seventy percent of the 115.2 million foreign cultural vacation presences in Italian art cities in 2019 are concentrated in nine cities: Rome 28.3 percent, Venice 15.8 percent, Florence 10.7 percent, Milan 6.1 percent, Naples 4.5 percent, Palermo 1.7 percent, Verona 1.3 percent, Catania 1.3 percent and Pisa 1.2 percent.

Five major markets account for 55 percent of cultural attendance, both in 2019 and 2021, with all the limitations and risks this entails. Seventy percent of international flows are concentrated on 1 percent of the Italian territory, a figure that explains the problems of overtourism and congestion in urban centers that this entails for the most visited art cities, to the detriment of all other destinations and villages, which remain strongly residual in terms of presences.

The numbers change drastically due to covid in 2021 with 23.9 million international presences, but distributed substantially among the usual known destinations: Rome 20.9%, Venice 16.9%, Florence 9.8%, Milan 7.3%, Naples 4.1%, Bari 3.0%, Verona 2.3%, Bologna 2.1%, Turin 1.6% and Pisa 1.3%.

The top source markets in 2019 - the U.S. 15 percent, Germany 12 percent, France 11 percent, the U.K. 10 percent, Canada 7 percent, Spain 6 percent, Australia 4 percent, the Netherlands 3 percent, Brazil 3 percent and Japan 3 percent - record 32 percent of admissions from the long haul, demonstrating that cultural tourism is the main motivation for travel to Italy for international tourists.

The change in content volumes in 2022 marks a +36% compared to 2021, for accommodation alone this is a +75% of overnight tourism, reflecting the recovery that took place in 2022. In terms of markets and travel types, the return of long-haul travelers and the figure on single travelers, who account for 14%, emerge, and who often do not find adequate offers.

The 2023 outlook shows, based on digital content, an increase that follows that of 2022, so the estimates are that the cultural tourism sector will re-establish itself at pre-pandemic levels partly due to the consolidation of the recovery in international tourism. The focus on online travel agencies (OTAs), shows a +7% price increase on 100 million offers in 2022, while for 2023 on 43 million existing offers the current increase is 19%, an indicator that there will be an increase in the cost of cultural vacation.