The report, curated by CRISP (the Inter-University Research Center for Public Utility Services, an academic network based at the University of Milan Bicocca), and strongly supported by TH Resorts and the Fondazione per la Sussidiarietà, examines the leisure travel and tourism sector based on data. The number of tourists, both Italian and foreign, accommodated in lodging establishments over a span of six years increased from 104 to 123 million (in 2017). However, this growth is tempered by a reduction in the average number of nights per guest (from 3.67 in 2012 to 3.41 in 2017), reflecting more limited financial means, more superficial or omnivorous habits, and a tendency toward rushed “bite-and-run” travel.

It is also necessary to compare Italy with other top tourist destinations. While the number of tourists in Italy has grown by 3.5% per year (although highly seasonal, with 40.9% beach tourism and 51.9% mountain tourism), Spain has seen a 4.9% growth and Greece a 5.4% increase. These choices are not purely coincidental; often, they reflect a lack of competitive offerings. Over the past five years, Italy has lost 394 hotel businesses, while non-hotel accommodations (such as hostels, holiday homes, etc.) have surged by +57,975, and entrepreneurially-run rentals (rooms or vacation homes) have increased by +38,836.

As a result of this imbalance, out of the 286,667 people employed in the sector in 2017, 57% had a fixed-term, part-time, or voucher-based contract, and 7.6% worked in family-owned businesses. This situation leads to a general lack of attention to and investment in “human capital,” with 96 workers per manager (compared to 22 workers per manager in the overall labor market), 4% of employees lacking any formal education, and 30% having only a lower secondary diploma. Furthermore, while an employee with no formal education earns slightly below the national average (-0.7%), workers with a degree earn 20% less than the Italian average.

According to CRISP researchers, the strong seasonality and the prevalence of small to medium-sized hotel businesses (with an average of 24 beds per establishment) certainly do not contribute to stabilizing employment or promoting professional growth. Added to this is the exceptionally high labor cost (72% higher than in Greece and 20% higher than in Spain), with a tax wedge of 42%, highlighting the constraints within which Italy’s tourism industry operates today.

The report concludes that these limits could potentially be mitigated by adopting higher-level apprenticeship programs, specifically “third-level” apprenticeships focused on advanced training and research. These programs could offer training benefits for young people, allowing them to develop specific skills aligned with their academic path, tax advantages for employers, reducing the tax wedge, and benefits for affiliated training institutions (such as The Italian Hotel School). In tandem, new tourism policies should be introduced to promote workforce growth, increased flexibility for such a seasonal sector, consolidation and development of medium-to-large-scale accommodation businesses, and ultimately, the creation of a more competitive sector with qualified staff, capable managers, and robust structures ready to face the challenges of modern tourism.