The pillars of the italian economy

Marco Fortis Editor The Pillars of the Italian Economy Manufacturing, Food & Wine, Tourism The Pillars of the Italian Economy Marco Fortis Editor The Pillars of the Italian Economy Manufacturing, Food & Wine, Tourism 123 Editor Marco Fortis Department of International Economics, Institutions and Development Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore Milan Italy ISBN 978-3-319-40185-0 DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-40186-7 ISBN 978-3-319-40186-7 (eBook) Library of Congress Control Number: 2016948300 © Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2016 This work is subject to copyright All rights are reserved by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made Printed on acid-free paper This Springer imprint is published by Springer Nature The registered company is Springer International Publishing AG The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland Preface A comprehensive description of the main characteristics and strengths and most relevant aspects of the Italian production system are provided in this work, which aims to fill a “gap” in the existing economic literature on Italy’s international competitiveness in an attempt to clarify misinterpretations and avoid common errors This book–through a rigorous analysis developed on the basis of data from Istat, Eutostat, UN Comtrade, WTO, and International Trade Center–provides data which show the strengths of the main Italian sectors of specialization It offers the necessary evidence to prove that Italy remains a major competitive country internationally, contrary to those who claim it is inexorably declining, and ascribe erroneously the cause to a high manufacturing concentration in the more traditional sectors The book is divided into seven chapters; the first three are more general while the last four provide detailed analyses of specific sectors The first chapter describes the top Italian manufacturing products in world trade The second chapter outlines the fundamental role of the industrial district model for Italian industry in terms of employment, added value, exports, and foreign trade balance A broad overview of the mechanical engineering sector is provided in the third chapter It depicts the sector’s impressive growth, and how over the past 20 years it has gained increasing shares of both domestic and foreign markets The last four chapters provide a thorough assessment of the sectors that are becoming increasingly pertinent to the Italian economy like mechanical engineering, more specifically wrapping and packaging machinery; pharmaceuticals; food and wine; and tourism Chapter analyzes Italy’s international competitiveness and introduces a new analytical tool, the Fortis–Corradini Index (FCI), named after the authors who developed it on behalf of the Fondazione Edison This index is used to highlight Italy’s strengths in international trade It differs from the Trade Performance Index (TPI) developed by International Trade Center (UNCTAD/WTO) The Fortis– Corradini Index provides a high degree of detail at the sectoral level through the 5,117 products under the international classification HS96—available in the UN Comtrade database with a six-digit breakdown—in which world trade is v vi Preface subdivided The FCI shows how Italy is one of the most competitive countries in the world and that it holds important leadership positions in international trade With reference to 2012, Italy in fact ranked first, second or third in the trade balance of 932 products for a total worth of $177 billion Moreover, there were more than 1,200 Italian products that had a trade surplus greater than the same German product (assuming Germany as international performance benchmark) Only China performed better than Italy with a trade surplus of around 2,200 products which did better than the German products The chapter concludes with an appendix of detailed statistics describing the 235 first positions, the 376 second positions, and the 321 third positions obtained by Italy in international commerce in terms of trade surplus, as well as the 1,235 products where the Italian trade surplus was greater than German one Chapter describes the Italian Industrial District (ID) phenomenon, which has grown to become unequaled by other advanced nations It clearly describes the role and importance, at both the national and international level, of Italian Industrial Districts and presents a “map” of the main “Made in Italy” district specializations More specifically, an in-depth analysis is provided of the links between Italian Industrial Districts and production specializations The main classifications of an Industrial District proposed by various Italian sources (Istat, MediobancaUnioncamere, Fondazione Edison, Banca d’Italia) are listed The relevance of IDs is described in terms of employment and production dynamics The role of IDs in domestic and international markets is clearly depicted The factors which continue to ensure the success of Industrial Districts are expounded in the conclusion Chapter 3—after an initial section delineating the historical framework of the main phases of Italian industrialization and economic growth (both domestic and foreign), from its unification to the present—analyzes the dominant production specializations from WWII onwards The Fondazione Edison has coined the term 4Fs (Fashion and cosmetics; Furniture and ceramic tiles; Fabricated metal products, machinery and transport equipment; Food and wine) to describe the main sectors of “Made in Italy” specializations A case study is provided of mechanical engineering which, over time, has become the leading motor of the 4Fs This chapter in particular expounds Italy’s ability to maintain its world export quotas in manufacturing notwithstanding the rise of China over the last years This has been possible, in part, due to the shift in production specializations The general contraction of market segments in the fashion and furniture sectors—which nonetheless continue to maintain a relevant share of production—is counterbalanced by a significant production increase in mechanical engineering (in particular non-electronic machinery, i.e metal products, industrial machinery and domestic appliances, but also some electronical equipment) and means of transport other than cars (luxury yachts, cruise ships, helicopters) In fact, today, the mechanical engineering sector, in terms of machines and mechanical equipment (excluding metal products), has an export quota which is almost double that of fashion Italy ranks second in both electric and non-electric mechanical engineering products, according to the UNCTAD/WTO Trade Performance Index for international competitiveness When considering the 633 products specific to machinery, equipment and metal products found in the Preface vii Fortis–Corradini Index, Italy places first, second, and third for world trade surplus in 285 of these, for a total value of $66 billion It, furthermore, has a higher trade surplus than Germany in 179 of these products The chapter also proves that Italy is not at all in “decline” when it comes to international trade While it must certainly strengthen its production system, possibly through an aggregation process of pooling smaller-sized Italian companies and encouraging greater growth among medium-large and large companies, englobed by the term quarto capitalismo (fourth capitalism), it has reacted positively to challenges, by shifting its manufacturing, which has provided further opportunities to conquer new global leadership positions Chapter 4—after a general description of Italian Industrial Districts (Chap 2), and a broad overview of the main development phases of Italian mechanical engineering (Chap 3)—provides details of Industrial Districts in the field of mechanical engineering Automated machines for wrapping and packaging in Emilia-Romagna existed already since the 1920s, but the industry experienced vigorous growth only after World War II The chapter first describes the evolution of the mechanical engineering industry in Bologna where, during the last decades of the twentieth century, the automated machines sector experienced fabulous growth in wrapping and packaging machinery, which in fact became a central pillar of the Italian mechanical engineering industry The section which follows is dedicated to the history of the Emilia district, highlighting the success factors, and providing a comparison of the more recent dynamics with its direct German competitor, the Baden-Württemberg district The analysis covers various aspects beginning with: (a) a detailed examination of exports and Italian and German trade balances as well as their automated machinery for wrapping and packaging sectors, using Eurostat data; (b) an analysis of where the two countries rank in the world trade classification of the top 10 countries exporting automated wrapping and packaging machines worldwide, using UN Comtrade data; (c) a scrutiny of the size of the two districts—Baden-Württemberg and Emilia-Romagna—for automated packaging machinery This analysis highlights Italy’s “superiority” particularly with respect to Germany The Emilia-Bologna industrial district, which from the original Bologna district expanded to embrace Modena and the provinces of Parma and Reggio Emilia, in this “broader” form employed 16,000 workers in 2011 and had a turnover of €3.7 billion The German district of Baden-Württemberg which now also encompasses the neighboring regions North East of Stuttgart of Schwäbisch Hall and Waiblingen, employed 13,000 workers in 2010 Chapter analyzes a sector which in more recent years has re-acquired a significant role in the Italian economy The pharmaceutical sector has found ample space for growth in Italy due to numerous investments from foreign multinationals attracted by its production sites, research centers, and qualified personnel at competitive prices The chapter describes the relevant size of the pharmaceutical sector, focusing on those regions where the pharmaceutical industry is most present It compares these industries at the European level and identifies the ranks of the five Italian regions within the classification of large European pharmaceutical regions The chapter then provides an analysis of the industrial performance of the viii Preface pharmaceutical sector in terms of production, investments and exports both domestic and foreign More specifically, from 1991 to 2014 Italy’s export share of pharmaceutical products (medicines and pharmaceutical preparations) of total exports improved from 0.5 % to 4.5 % and the ranking of exported pharmaceutical products increased from 53rd place in 1991 to 4th place in 2014 Within an international context, Italy, over the last years, has registered the largest increase in absolute value of pharmaceutical exports ($8.1 billion), and its share of exports between 2010 and 2014 grew by percentage points from 4.5 % to 6.5 % German pharmaceutical exports increased by percentage points, while that of other major European countries decreased Lastly, the chapter concludes with a brief analysis of the Italian pharmaceutical biotech sector Chapter is dedicated to “Food and Wine” This sector places Italy at the top echelons of world classifications due to the excellent quality of its products and production system Even though Italy, in the primary sector (plant products, livestock, forestry, fishery, game), is a net importer, the food and beverage industry in terms of both exports and trade balance is performing extremely well After a brief overview of the agricultural, fishery and forestry sectors (in which Italy has the highest added value of any of the European countries), an in-depth analysis is provided of the food sector in terms of turnover, employment and exports The food industry in Italy has a turnover greater than €130 billion, which is second only to the mechanical engineering and metal products sector As regards foreign trade, the analysis shows that, over the 2010–2014 period, exports increased by 29.6 % from €20.9 to €27.1 billion, while the trade surplus grew by around 60 % from €4.2 to €6.7 billion The Italian food industry’s competitiveness in international trade has been confirmed by the UNCTAD/WTO Trade Performance Index, which ranks it sixth worldwide, and by the Fortis–Corradini Index (IFC) The Fortis–Corradini Index shows that of the 616 agro-food products considered, Italian products reach top spots 65 times (21 products placed first, 23 placed second and 21 placed third), with a trade surplus of $20.3 billion (in 2012) Last, the chapter dedicates a specific section to wines, the branch which contributes the most to overall exports In 2015, the beverage sector exported €7.3 billion: €5.4 billion was in wines More significantly, of the €5.4 billion, the wine trade surplus accounted for €5.1 billion Chapter is dedicated to tourism After a brief reconstruction of the global demand for tourism in terms of foreign arrivals at the border, the analysis concentrates on the number of “tourists nights” (nights spent in hotels and similar accommodation establishments) The competitiveness indicator used considers this data more significant than the number of arrivals at the border, since the latter are influenced by the presence, in some instances, of large airport hubs which attract the arrivals of foreign tourists who tend to go elsewhere for longer periods of time Using tourists nights as an indicator of competitiveness, Eurostat places Italy as the second most popular destination in Europe after Spain, and third for overall tourism (including domestic), after Spain and France Italy, however, is placed first in the Eurozone when considering the number of nights spent by extra-EU tourists It is the favored destination of Japanese, Chinese, American, Australian, Canadian and Brazilian travelers who are attracted by Italy’s impressive heritage in art, Preface ix architecture and monuments that il Belpaese is known for Italy is in fact world leader for the number of sites on the UNESCO World Heritage list (51), thus placing it before China (48), Spain (44), France (41) and Germany (40) The chapter also provides a territorial analysis that singles out specific Italian regions which, if they could be inserted in the EU classification of overnight stays of foreign tourists per country, they would place in the top half When considering single Italian regions, Veneto would place seventh before Holland and Portugal, Trentino Alto Adige would place tenth and Tuscany twelfth (both before the Czech Republic), Lazio and Lombardy would place fourteenth and fifteenth respectively (both before Belgium), Emilia-Romagna would place twentieth and Campania thirtieth Once again, the myth is dismantled that Italy is incapable of revitalizing and adapting its tourism industry to the new demands of the continuously increasing foreign visitors In conclusion, fashion and furniture products are no longer the only sectors of excellence identified with “Made in Italy” products The concept of Italian excellence has been broadened to include other areas like high-quality food and wine and many branches of the mechanical engineering-machinery sector, chemicals, pharmaceuticals and means of transport other than cars (luxury yachts, cruise ships, helicopters), without forgetting the enormous economic potential of the Italian tourism industry These new developments not take away from the important role of the more traditional sectors like fashion and furniture, which together with fabricated metal products, machinery and transport equipment, and food and wine continue to represent the Italian manufacturing industry’s four main areas of excellence for added value, exports, and foreign trade surplus According to the 4Fs paradigm developed by the Fondazione Edison, “Fashion and cosmetics” includes textiles, wearing apparel, footwear, leather goods, travel items, eyewear, jewelry, cosmetics and perfumes; “Furniture and ceramic tiles” includes wood products, furniture, ceramic tiles, ornamental stones and ceramic sanitary ware; “Food and wine” includes agro-food products and beverages excluding those that have been slightly processed like fresh milk and meats; and lastly “Fabricated metal products, machinery and transport equipment” includes all means of transport and vehicle parts but not finished vehicles, with the exception of Ferrari luxury sports cars, by now, one of the most popular symbols of “Made in Italy” excellence It includes non-electronic mechanical engineering, i.e industrial machinery and mechanical equipment, rubber and plastics When observing the dynamics of the 4Fs, it is clear that over the past two decades, Italy has undergone a very real industrial reconversion It has focused increasingly on quality, and less on the quantity of products and processes It has worked to create added value in the traditional fashion and furniture sectors which are more exposed to competition from emerging economies It has invested in new specializations like pharmaceuticals and especially mechanical engineering, which today is by far the most important sector in terms of foreign trade surplus In less than 15 years, from 2001 to 2014, the manufacturing surplus in the Fabricated metal products, machinery and transport equipment sector almost doubled from €47 to €84 billion Fashion and furniture in 2014 generated an overall trade surplus of €38 x Preface billion, a figure impressive enough to cover the deficit created by weaker specializations (especially IT, telecoms and finished vehicles with the exception of Ferrari cars) The Food and wine sector trade surplus was €7 billion The contribution to the balance of trade from the more traditional sectors like fashion and furniture remains fundamental, notwithstanding their decline Fabricated metal products, machinery and transport equipment, and food and wine instead are thriving The latter sector, while smaller than the others, remains buoyant and rich in potential Milan, Italy Marco Fortis 320 7.1 M Fortis and C Crenna The International Scenario After the world economy plummeted into the gravest recent international financial and economic crisis (2008–2009), triggered by the burst of the real estate and financial “bubbles” in the United States and subsequently in other countries, world tourism unexpectedly perked up over the following six years and did surprisingly well, even better than the forecasted average Already in 2010, the tourism industry experienced a 6.4 % increase from the previous year (2009) In 2011 it consolidated the trend with a +4.6 % increase and in 2012, while the world economy was still in the grip of uncertainty thwarting growth, for the first time in its history, the tourism sector passed the impressive threshold of billion arrivals The United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), recently published its data on international tourist arrivals in 2015, confirming a continued positive trend (+4.4 % increase from 2014) up to 1.2 billion tourists (UNWTO 2016) In some areas around the world, tourism grew during the difficult years of the economic and financial crisis, showing an inverted trend compared to the nation’s economy in general In particular, in 2011, the data for Europe were quite surprising International arrivals increased more than for any other continent (+6.2 % increase from 2010) (Fortis 2012a) Foreign arrivals in Europe (including intra-EU flows) in 2011 were more than half a billion and in terms of real expenditure grew by +5.2 % annually (UNWTO 2012) At present, Europe is the geographic area with the highest share of tourism both in terms of arrivals (51.4 % in 2014) and foreign receipts (40.9 % in 2014), notwithstanding impressive competition from emerging economies, followed by Asia and the Pacific area (23.2 % of arrivals and 30.3 % of receipts) In general, advanced nations have a greater share of world tourism than emerging nations (54.7 % against 45.3 %), but UNWTO forecasts that by 2030, emerging countries will have obtained 57 % of world tourism An assessment of outbound tourism shows that Europe, Asia and the Pacific, and the Americas are the main regions from which tourists travel However, as spendable incomes increase, other macro-areas will also intensify their outbound tourism (UNWTO 2015) When ranking individual nations on the basis of international arrivals, measured primarily as arrivals of tourists at the border, UNWTO data for 2014 confirm that France remained the first country of destination for international tourists (83.7 million arrivals), followed by the United States (74.8 million) and then Spain (65 million), who in 2013 regained third place, which it had temporarily forfeited to China in 2010 In 2014, China placed fourth (55.6 million arrivals) after Spain, followed by Italy (48.6 million), which relinquished its fourth place to China in 2006 (UNWTO 2015) Using the measure of international tourist arrivals at hotels and other accommodation establishments (hostels, camping sites, etc.), the picture changes completely Eurostat uses this methodology because it provides a clearer understanding of real travel flows, i.e visitors who travel for business and/or leisure In 2014, Spain ranked first in the EU-28 for international arrivals at hotels and other Italian Tourism in the Age of Globalization 321 accommodation establishments It had 52.3 million foreign arrivals, doing a little better than Italy which had 51.6 million France placed third with 46.1 million (compared to the 83.7 million foreign arrivals at the border registered by UNWTO) (Eurostat 2016a) 7.2 Increased Competitiveness in Global Tourism There was a time when Italy was first worldwide for international tourist arrivals at the border In 1970, Italy ranked first before Canada, France, Spain and the United States Only 20 years earlier, in 1950, Italy had ranked third after the United States and Canada There are multiple reasons why in 1970 it came to rank first worldwide in international arrivals at the border First of all, Italy had experienced the “dolce vita”, the economic boom and Cinecittà was constantly being visited in the 50 and 60s as an intriguing tourist attraction for travelers from far away like the United States and Japan Second, after the development of large-scale summer tourism all along its coasts (especially in North and Central Italy), it had become the perfect “beach” Besides millions of Italian tourists, millions of Europeans saw Italy as an alternative to the elitist Côte d’Azur (Spain had not yet undergone its intensive development) Third, in 1970, the world was quite small, it had not yet experienced globalization The “Berlin wall” still blocked Russians and other East Europeans from traveling, while the Chinese were far away, extremely poor and “closed” within their borders Mass tourism in that period was circumscribed to the so-called Western world, North America and Europe, as well as Japan Last, it must be remembered that in 1970, large scale Intercontinental European airports like Paris, London and Frankfurt were not yet “magnets” for international arrivals (measured at the border) as they would soon become As the golden 1970s disappeared, after only 10 years, by 1980, Italy slid down the UNWTO statistics and ranked fourth in terms of international arrivals at the border, after France, Spain and the United States From 1980 to 2005, Italy maintained its solid fourth place of international arrivals at the border, which it forfeited in 2006 to China It is not hard to imagine the harsh impact of the Asian giant on Italy, which had been aggressively pursuing expansion and attracting tourists for leisure and more importantly for business (Fondazione Edison and Symbola 2009) Italy slipping to fourth place in international arrivals of foreign tourists at the border, however, need not be viewed as a sign of decline In fact, it is logical that a large country like China, which has been experiencing massive exponential growth in recent years, should also see more domestic and foreign tourists as well as an increase in expenditure by travelers (as have Hong Kong and Macau) overtaking Italy But, this is by no means a sign that Italian tourism is doing poorly It is simply the result of China becoming the main global manufacturer in less than 20 years Millions more Chinese can travel within China than 20 years ago and millions of foreigners now travel to China every year for business, but much less for leisure 322 M Fortis and C Crenna (Fondazione Edison et al 2013) To discuss tourism in the strict sense, one should distinguish between travel for business and leisure Unfortunately, statistics are extremely lacking in this regard Data series on international arrivals at the border, including by UNWTO, are influenced by the presence of large airport hubs in certain countries They act as magnets for foreign arrivals even though tourists are in transit and might remain for even longer periods of time in other countries Moreover, many arrivals at the border in certain countries are relatives of immigrants who reside in the country and host them This type of travel cannot be considered tourism, meaning travel for leisure or culture For all these reasons, the indicator of international tourism competitiveness of countries in terms of arrivals and tourist nights by foreigners in hotels and other accommodation establishments is a more significant indicator Such data has been officially compiled by Eurostat (Fortis 2012b) It is without a doubt that the Italian tourism industry must improve in terms of competitiveness and quality of its services in order to face the new challenges of globalization (Presidenza del Consiglio dei Ministri 2013) Italy, nonetheless has given proof of its significant ability to intercept part of world tourism’s new demand, which in 2012 passed the billion threshold of international arrivals at the border It is estimated that this positive trend will continue until 2030 with active participation from emerging countries in terms of both outbound travel and tourist expenditure In the near future, Italy’s growth as a tourism destination will depend on its ability to promote tourism, continuously improve its infrastructure and adapt to, repeat and new, tourist requests who are becoming increasingly demanding, selective and in search of vacations that offer multifaceted experiences (Fortis and Crenna 2014) 7.3 Italy’s Tourism Capacity The Italian tourism industry in Europe has reached record levels of tourism capacity (Fortis 2012c) Eurostat data for 2014 show that Italy ranks second after France for the total number of bed-places in all accommodation establishments Italy has 4.8 million bed-places, while France has 5.1 million (see Table 7.1) However, a large part of tourism in France is based on camping areas (2.8 million), leaving Italy in a leadership position within the European Union for bed-places in hotel accommodations Italy, in 2014, had 2.2 million bed-places in hotels, or 16.4 % of the total EU bed-place capacity, its competitor Spain placed second, while France ranked fourth, with million hotel bed-places less than Italy (see Table 7.2) Italy is also the confirmed leader for related accommodation establishments (holiday and other short stay accommodations) with 1.4 million bed-places, while France has million bed-places (Eurostat 2016a) Italian Tourism in the Age of Globalization 323 Table 7.1 Number of bed-places in tourist accommodation establishments in EU Member States in 2014 Countries 2014 % of EU total France 5,109,884 16.5 Italy 4,849,432 15.7 Spain 3,482,983 11.3 Germany 3,318,592 10.7 Netherlands 1,373,588 4.4 Greece 1,238,586 4.0 Austria 993,554 3.2 Croatia 893,827 2.9 Sweden 805,287 2.6 10 Czech Republic 710,381 2.3 11 Poland 694,023 2.2 13 Portugal 519,871 1.7 14 Hungary 435,620 1.4 15 Denmark 420,031 1.4 16 Belgium 366,166 1.2 17 Bulgaria 314,257 1.0 18 Romania 308,997 1.0 19 Finland 250,984 0.8 20 Ireland 205,860 0.7 21 Slovakia 183,404 0.6 22 Slovenia 106,557 0.3 23 Cyprus 87,578 0.3 24 Lithuania 72,926 0.2 25 Luxembourg 64,858 0.2 26 Estonia 58,095 0.2 27 Malta 41,873 0.1 28 Latvia 39,074 0.1 2014 data for the UK is unavailable; 2013 data places it third with 4,001,019 bed-places Source Compiled by Fondazione Edison using data from Eurostat (2016a) 7.4 Foreign Tourist Arrivals in the European Union Foreign tourist arrivals in EU countries, measured not in terms of arrivals at the border (as recorded by the UNWTO), but in terms of arrivals at hotels and other accommodation establishments (as recorded by Eurostat), clearly depicts a resilient and competitive Italian tourism industry In 2014, in fact Spain was first in the EU for non-resident arrivals (52.3 million) at accommodation establishments This was especially due to its loyal British guests Italy came close behind with 51.6 million, followed by France with 46.1 million, Germany with 32.8 million, while England 324 M Fortis and C Crenna Table 7.2 Number of bed-places in hotels and similar accommodations in EU Member States in 2014 Countries 2014 % of EU total Italy 2,241,239 16.4 Spain 1,875,912 13.7 Germany 1,763,742 12.9 France 1,274,920 9.3 Greece 800,022 5.9 Austria 598,742 4.4 Portugal 309,918 2.3 Czech Republic 306,430 2.2 10 Poland 292,521 2.1 11 Bulgaria 271,526 2.0 12 Netherlands 252,115 1.8 13 Sweden 238,852 1.7 14 Romania 217,721 1.6 15 Hungary 173,914 1.3 16 Croatia 161,875 1.2 17 Ireland 151,258 1.1 18 Finland 133,785 1.0 19 Belgium 127,835 0.9 20 Slovakia 91,663 0.7 21 Denmark 90,433 0.7 22 Cyprus 85,150 0.6 23 Slovenia 44,567 0.3 24 Malta 40,222 0.3 25 Estonia 32,437 0.2 26 Lithuania 28,459 0.2 27 Latvia 22,781 0.2 28 Luxembourg 14,787 0.1 2014 data for the UK is unavailable; 2013 data places it second with 2,018,172 bed-places Source Compiled by Fondazione Edison using data from EUROSTAT (2016) (in 2012, most recent available data) lagged behind with 21.8 million (see Table 7.3) In 2014, Italy was the preferred EU-28 destination for arrivals at hotels and related accommodation establishments by German (10.5 million), Austrian (2.2 million), Polish (1.1 million), Czech (659,000), Romanian (507,000) and Greek (307,000) tourists It was the second most popular destination in terms of arrivals for French (3.9 million) and Spanish (1.7 million) tourists; and the third preferred destination for British (3.1 million), Dutch (1.9 million) and Belgians (1.1 million) tourists (see Table 7.4) Among the European (extra-EU) countries, moreover, Italy is the second EU country preferred by Swiss tourists (2.4 million) Italian Tourism in the Age of Globalization 325 Table 7.3 Ranking of EU Member States for non-resident tourist arrivals in hotels and similar accommodations in 2014 (thousands) Rank Country Arrivals Spain 52,359 Italy 51,636 France 46,074 Germany 32,860 Austria 22,246 United Kingdom 21,854 Greece 14,402 Netherlands 13,925 Croatia 11,439 10 Portugal 9688 11 Czech Republic 8096 12 Belgium 7887 13 Poland 5470 14 Sweden 5455 15 Hungary 4618 16 Bulgaria 2792 17 Finland 2731 18 Denmark 2465 19 Slovenia 2374 20 Ireland 2243 21 Estonia 1983 22 Cyprus 1936 23 Romania 1912 24 Slovakia 1460 25 Latvia 1431 26 Malta 1399 27 Lithuania 1357 28 Luxembourg 1038 UK data refers to 2012 Source Compiled by Fondazione Edison using data from Eurostat (2016a) Nonetheless, Italy’s true strength consists in its extraordinary attractiveness for non-EU tourists In fact, according to Eurostat, Italy in 2014 was the favored destination within the EU for arrivals at hotels and related accommodation establishments for American (4.7 million), Canadian (734,000), Russian (1.8 million), Chinese (2.3 million), Japanese (1.3 million), Korean (535,000) Brazilian (763,000) and the Turkish (348,000) tourists It was the second most favored destination, after the United Kingdom, for arrivals from Oceania (1 million) (Table 7.5) (Eurostat 2016a) 326 M Fortis and C Crenna Table 7.4 Non-resident EU tourists arriving in other EU Member States and staying in hotels and similar accommodations in 2014 (thousands) From Ranked destination Tourists Ranked destination Tourists Ranked destination Tourists Germany Austria France Italy Italy Spain 10,531 2213 6045 Austria Germany Italy 9948 1713 3903 8608 1008 2093 2 2 Italy Francia Germania France 1712 415 134 7611 Spain Croatia United Kingdom Portugal Italy Bulgaria Italy 1561 251 111 3108 2 2 2 Germany Spain Netherlands Germania Germania Croatia 920 697 1828 4228 886 658 3 4 3 Italy Italy Italy Italy Spain Austria 612 581 1118 1914 635 516 Austria Bulgaria 120 307 Spain France 2510 Portugal Spain 1264 Greece Italy 307 United Spain 11,047 Kingdom Sweden Spain 1245 Denmark Germany 1465 Belgium France 4243 Netherlands France 4421 Poland Italy 1105 Czech Italy 659 Republic Slovakia Croatia 1099 Romania Italy 507 UK data refer to 2012 Source Compiled by Fondazione Edison 7.5 Italy Greece 216 352 using data from Eurostat (2016a) Overnight Stays by Tourists in Europe When assessing the number of nights spent by foreign tourists in hotels and other accommodation establishments (tourist nights), according to Eurostat data, Italy in 2015 was the second most popular destination (191 million overnight stays) in Europe after Spain (268 million) France registered 134 million tourist nights, removing it considerably from a leadership position, which instead it seems to have when it comes to international arrivals at the border (Eurostat 2016b) In 2014 Italy confirmed its first place within the Eurozone for number of overnight stays by extra-EU tourists with more than 57 million nights, placing it before Spain (44 million) and France (40 million) When considering the three countries, Italy grew the most between 2013 and 2014 In fact, extra-EU tourist nights grew by % in Italy, by 1.6 % in Spain and by 0.1 % in France (Table 7.6) Italian Tourism in the Age of Globalization 327 Table 7.5 Non-resident extra-EU tourists arriving in EU Member States and staying in Hotels and similar accommodations in 2014 (thousands) From Ranked destination Tourists Ranked destination Tourists Ranked destination Tourists United States Canada Brazil Russia Turkey China Japan Korea Switzerland Oceania Italy 4732 France 3504 United Kingdom France Spain Greece Greece Germany Spain Croatia France France 2766 Italy 735 United Kingdom 613 Italy 763 Portugal 593 Italy 1785 Spain 1441 Italy 348 Germany 274 Italy 2298 France 1389 Italy 1310 France 1158 Italy 535 Spain 450 Germany 2758 Italy 2402 United 1123 Italy 1022 Kingdom (2012) UK data refer to 2012 Source Compiled by Fondazione Edison using data from Eurostat (2016a) 516 481 1140 262 1030 690 261 2136 479 Table 7.6 Ranking of Eurozone Member States for number of nights spent by extra-EU tourists (thousands of nights spent at tourist accommodation establishments) Destination 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 Source Nights spent in 2013 Nights spent in 2014 % diff 2014/2013 Italy 56,220 57,358 2.0 Spain 43,538 44,239 1.6 France 39,937 39,966 0.1 Germany 28,250 29,870 5.7 Greece 22,503 23,351 3.8 Austria 13,296 13,655 2.7 Netherlands 6256 6752 7.9 Portugal 5696 6448 13.2 Cyprus 5486 5532 0.8 Ireland n.d 4191 n.d Belgium 3079 3311 7.5 Finland 3132 2927 −6.5 Slovenia 1543 1583 2.6 Lithuania 1491 1567 5.1 Malta 1333 1332 −0.1 Latvia 1313 1297 −1.2 Estonia 1095 1067 −2.6 Slovakia 1027 922 −10.2 Luxembourg 301 346 15.1 Compiled by Fondazione Edison using data from Eurostat (2016a) 328 M Fortis and C Crenna Eurostat data for 2014 on tourist nights showed Italy as the preferred destination in the Eurozone for tourists arriving from major locations outside the EU Italy in fact, ranked first for the number of nights spent by Japanese tourists (2.6 million nights), before France (2.5 million) and significantly before Spain (1.2 million) It was also the clearly preferred destination for Chinese tourists (3.5 million nights), which was more than France (2.9 million), and three times more than Spain Among the Eurozone countries, Italy won a rather important challenge It attracted many US tourists In fact, in 2014, it registered more than 12 million overnight stays by Americans This figure was by far greater than what was registered by its main competitors (France, Germany and Spain) Italy distanced itself in equal measure from France, Germany and Spain also in the case of tourist nights by Swiss tourists, who in 2014 spent more than million nights in Italy It was also the most preferred Eurozone destination in terms of tourist nights for Australian tourists (2.3 million vs 1.2 million in France), and Canadian tourists (2 million vs 1.3 million in France) It was the main destination for Brazilian tourists (1.9 million), which they visited more than Portugal (1.5 million) and Spain (1.3 million) (Table 7.7) (Eurostat 2016a) 7.6 Tourism, an Extraordinary Resource for Italian Regions Tourism represents a fabulous multifaceted economic resource for the economies of many provinces and regions in Italy It can be extremely varied: seasonal, art and monuments, wine and gastronomy, business and trade fairs to name a few Table 7.8 shows how specified Italian regions placed within the 2014 classification of EU countries with the most number of foreign tourist nights If one were to exclude Italy and include its regions, Veneto would place 7th behind Greece and Croatia, but before the Netherlands and Portugal Trentino-Alto Adige would place 10th and Tuscany would place 12th, both before the Czech Republic Lazio and Lombardy would both place before Belgium, at 14th and 15th place respectively Emilia-Romagna would place 27th, before Malta, and Campania would place 30th If the same exercise were undertaken for single provinces, Venice would place 11th; Rome and Bolzano would place 16th and 17th, with more tourist nights than Belgium; Verona would place 25th before Denmark; Florence would place 28th and Milan 31st (Istat 2016) The Italian tourism industry is not static In fact, at the territorial level it has shown, over the past few years, visited sites in Italy were the many interesting, and a few new developments If one were to compare the growth that occurred between 2010 and 2014, of the Italian territorial leaders for tourism listed in Table 7.8, the strongest growth in absolute numbers of foreign tourists at the regional level would be Veneto (+4.6 million tourists), Lombardy (around +3 million), Tuscany (+2.6 million) and Trentino Alto Adige (+2.5 million) These are not the only regions which Italian Tourism in the Age of Globalization 329 Table 7.7 Top five countries of destination for number of nights spent by extra-EU tourists in 2014 (thousands of nights spent at tourist accommodation establishments) EU destination Nights spent 2014 2014/2013 (%) EU destination Nights spent 2014 2014/2013 (%) Japanese tourist Chinese tourists Italy 2579 −6.7 Italy 3481 France 2538 −4.8 France 2867 Germany 1245 −4.1 Germany 2011 Spain 1242 −3.1 Spain 1067 Austria 478 −3.8 Austria 671 Brazilian tourists Canadian tourists Italy 1879 2.6 Italy 2019 Portugal 1455 16.3 France 1274 Spain 1253 9.4 Spain 1038 Germany 766 5.9 Germany 629 Netherlands 297 12.5 Ireland 537 Russian tourists Swiss tourists Spain 8998 −12.8 Italy 9320 Greece 7999 −7.6 France 5833 Italy 6822 −4.1 Germany 5786 Cyprus 4028 −0.2 Spain 4640 France 2742 −13.4 Austria 4225 US tourists Australian tourists Italy 12,025 2.5 Italy 2260 France 8622 0.9 France 1192 Germany 5294 10.4 Spain 743 Spain 5132 5.0 Germany 727 Ireland 2348 n.d Greece 564 Source Compiled by Fondazione Edison using data from Eurostat (2016a) 23.0 9.3 17.2 28.1 17.2 0.5 −4.9 0.4 −0.3 n.d 1.3 2.0 7.1 5.1 1.2 −1.4 −13.5 1.4 2.1 18.8 experienced growth, interesting figures are also available on increases of foreign tourists in Sicily (+1.8 million), Sardinia (+1.3 million) and Liguria (+1.1 million) There are telling data also for Italian provinces Between 2010 and 2014 Venice experienced the highest growth with +2.4 million non-resident tourists, followed by Verona (+1.6 million), Bolzano (+1.5 million) and Milan (+1.4 million) Among the provinces not listed in Table 7.8 is worth mentioning the excellent performance of Naples (+1.5 million) 330 M Fortis and C Crenna Table 7.8 Ranking of some Italian regions and provinces within the EU classification of number of foreign tourists in 2014 (thousands of nights spent at tourist accommodation establishments) Rank Country 2014 Spain 259,636 Italy 186,793 France 130,909 Austria 78,099 Germany 74,805 Greece 74,675 Croatia 61,073 Veneto 41,306 Portugal 35,630 10 Netherlands 34,424 11 Trentino A Adige 26,243 12 Venice 24,657 13 Tuscany 23,154 14 Czech Republic 22,110 15 Lazio 20,675 16 Lombardy 19,677 17 Rome 19,665 18 Bolzano 19,655 19 Belgium 17,069 20 Bulgaria 14,078 21 Poland 12,992 22 Cyprus 12,884 23 Hungary 12,351 24 Sweden 12,261 25 Ireland 11,276 26 Verona 11,220 27 Denmark 10,608 28 Emilia Romagna 9823 29 Florence 9496 30 Malta 8428 31 Campania 8177 32 Milan 7560 33 Slovenia 6005 34 Finland 5711 35 Estonia 3919 36 Slovakia 3852 37 Romania 3762 38 Lithuania 3034 39 Latvia 2876 40 Luxembourg 2514 Source Compiled by Fondazione Edison using data from Eurostat (2016a) Italian Tourism in the Age of Globalization 331 There are relevant figures also when it comes to domestic tourism The three most visited regions in 2014 were Emilia-Romagna, Veneto, and Tuscany, followed by Trentino-Alto Adige Emilia-Romagna was by far the most visited region by tourists (25 million) It had at least million more than the other two regions Between 2010 and 2014 none of the regions grew in number of tourist nights This was due to the crunch felt by a lack of internal demand, which affected every sector including domestic tourism Breaking domestic tourism further down to the province level, the two most visited places in 2014 by domestic tourists were Rimini (11.2 million) and Venice (9.4 million) If these provinces were to be ranked in the classification of regions, they would place 6th and 10th respectively Rimini, in fact, had more resident tourists than the entire regions of Apulia and Lazio, and Venice had more tourists than the entire Marche region (Istat 2016) 7.7 Italy’s Artistic, Cultural and Architectural Heritage Italy is not only world renowned for its beautiful landscapes and mild climate, it has another fundamentally important strength Its heritage in terms of art, architecture, monuments and archaeological sites makes it quite unique Italy in fact has the most number of heritage sites classified by UNESCO on its world heritage list In 2015, Italy had 51 sites on the list, placing it before China (48), Spain (44), France (41) and Germany (40) (see Tables 7.9 and 7.10) (UNESCO 2016) Table 7.9 First 10 countries on the UNESCO world heritage list Country 10 Italy China Spain France Germany Mexico India United Kingdom and Northern Ireland Russian Federation United States Other countries Total Data refer to January 2016 Source Compiled by Fondazione Edison using data Total sites (cultural, natural and mixed) 51 48 44 41 40 33 32 29 26 23 664 1031 from UNESCO (2016) 332 M Fortis and C Crenna Table 7.10 Italian sites on the UNESCO world heritage list Year Site 1979 1980 Arte rupestre della Val Camonica Centro storico di Roma, le Proprietà della Santa Sede che godono dei diritti di extraterritorialità, e San Paolo Fuori le Mura Santa Maria delle Grazie e il Cenacolo Centro storico di Firenze Venezia e la sua Laguna Piazza del Duomo di Pisa Centro storico di San Gimignano I sassi di Matera Vicenza e le ville del Palladio del Veneto Centro storico di Siena Centro storico di Napoli Crespi d’Adda Ferrara e il delta del Po Castel del Monte Trulli di Alberobello Monumenti paleocristiani di Ravenna Centro storico di Pienza Reggia di Caserta, il Parco, l’acquedotto Vanvitelli e il Complesso di San Leucio Residenze Sabaude L’Orto Botanico, Padova Portovenere, le Cinque Terre e Isole (Palmaria, Tino e Tinetto) Cattedrale, Torre Civica e Piazza Grande, Modena Aree archeologiche di Pompei, Ercolano e Torre Annunziata Costiera Amalfitana Area archeologica di Agrigento Villa Romana del Casale Su Nuraxi di Barumini Parco Nazionale del Cilento Centro Storico di Urbino Zona Archeologica e Basilica Patriarcale di Aquileia Villa Adriana, Tivoli Isole Eolie Assisi, La Basilica di San Francesco e altri Siti Francescani Città di Verona Villa d’Este, Tivoli Città Barocche del Val di Noto Sacri Monti del Piemonte e della Lombardia Monte San Giorgio Necropoli Etrusche di Cerveteri e Tarquinia (continued) 1980 1982 1987 1987 1990 1993 1994 1995 1995 1995 1995 1996 1996 1996 1996 1997 1997 1997 1997 1997 1997 1997 1997 1997 1997 1998 1998 1998 1999 2000 2000 2000 2001 2002 2003 2003 2004 Italian Tourism in the Age of Globalization 333 Table 7.10 (continued) Year Site 2004 Val d’Orcia 2005 Siracusa e le necropoli rupestri di Pantalica 2006 Genova: le Strade Nuove e il sistema dei Palazzi dei Rolli 2008 Mantova e Sabbioneta 2008 Ferrovia Retica dell’Albula e del Bernina 2009 Dolomiti 2011 I Longobardi in Italia Luoghi di potere 2011 Siti palafitticoli preistorici delle alpi 2013 Ville medicee 2013 Monte Etna 2014 Paesaggi vitivinicoli del Piemonte: Langhe-roero e Monferrato 2015 Palermo arabo-normanna e le cattedrali di Cefalù e Monreale Data refers to January 2016 Source Compiled by Fondazione Edison using data from UNESCO (2016) The Italian Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities and Tourism (MIBACT —Ministero Italiano dei Beni e delle Attività Culturali e del Turismo) issued a Press Release where it stated that Italy’s artistic heritage increasingly attracts visitors To quote Minister Franceschini, 2015 was “a golden year for Italian museums”! Museums had than 43 million visitors and sold €155 million in tickets Italian culture recorded impressive growth compared to 2014 And 2014 had already been considered a brilliant year According to MIBACT data, in 2015 there was a +6 % increase in visitors and a +14 % increase in receipts Already in 2014 (from previous year), visitors increased by +6 % and the receipts by +7.2 % (Table 7.11) In 2015, the most visited sites in Italy were the Colosseum (6.5 million visitors), the archeological site of Pompeii (2.9 million visitors) and The Uffizi Gallery (2 million) (MIBACT 2016) Table 7.11 Number of visitors to Italian museums, monuments and national archeological sites Visitors 2013 2014 % Diff Revenue 2013 2014 Museums and art 10,173,515 11,074,036 8.9 32,610,703 35,546,281 collections Monuments and 19,489,919 20,012,328 2.7 39,376,649 42,130,179 archeological sites Other museums 8,761,153 9,658,399 10.2 54,430,115 57,834,242 (passes and cards) Total visitors 38,424,587 40,744,763 6.0 126,417,467 135,510,702 Source Compiled by Fondazione Edison using data from MIBACT (2016) % Diff 9.0 7.0 6.3 7.2 334 M Fortis and C Crenna References Eurostat (2016a) Statistics database, http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/data/database Eurostat (2016b) New peak of almost 2.8 bn tourism nights spent in the EU in 2015 News release 19 January 2016 Fondazione Edison, Symbola (2009) Turismo In: I.T.A.L.I.A.—Geografie del nuovo made in Italy, I Quaderni di Symbola Fondazione Edison, Symbola, Unioncamere (2013) Turismo In: I.T.A.L.I.A.—Geografie del nuovo made in italy, I Quaderni di Symbola Fortis M (2012a) Il giacimento è la domanda estera, Il Sole 24 Ore Rapporti 24 Impresa, 30 October Fortis M (2012b) Ora la sfida la Spagna: il sorpasso verrà dagli extra-Ue, Il Sole 24 Ore Rapporti 24 Impresa, 14 February Fortis M (2012c) Un potenziale da sviluppare per il bene del sistema-Paese, Il Sole 24 Ore Rapporti 24 Impresa, June Fortis M, Crenna C (2014) Expo 2015: un assaggio del Bel Paese per il suo rilancio turistico nel mondo «Quaderni di Approfondimenti Statistici», Fondazione Edison, no 143, November Istat (2016) Statistics database I Stat, http://dati.istat.it/ MIBACT—Ministero dei beni e delle attività culturali e del turismo (2016) Tutti i numeri dei musei italiani 2015 Ufficio Statistica, Roma Presidenza del Consiglio dei Ministri (2013) Turismo Italia 2020 Leadership, lavoro, sud, Roma, 18 January UNESCO (2016) World Heritage List, www.unesco.org UNWTO—World Tourism Organization (2012) Tourism Highlights 2012 Edition UNWTO—World Tourism Organization (2015) Tourism Highlights 2015 Edition UNWTO—World Tourism Organization (2016) World Tourism Barometer, January .. .The Pillars of the Italian Economy Marco Fortis Editor The Pillars of the Italian Economy Manufacturing, Food & Wine, Tourism 123 Editor Marco Fortis Department of International... identifies the ranks of the five Italian regions within the classification of large European pharmaceutical regions The chapter then provides an analysis of the industrial performance of the viii... (ed.), The Pillars of the Italian Economy, DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-40186-7_1 M Fortis et al 1.1 Introduction In recent years the problem of Italy’s and other mature economies’ weak GDP growth has often