For years Veneto has been top of Italy's rankings for the tourism sector, thanks to its consistent number of arrivals and nights spent.
However, the number of tourists who chose to visit Veneto in 2009 was slightly down on that of the previous year. The number of arrivals decreased by 1.3%, although there were still over 60 million nights spent, which is no mean figure. The flow of tourists had shown a notable increase in growth rates since 2005. This came to a halt in 2008, though less so than in the rest of Italy and in Veneto's European competitors.
Tourism in Veneto is characterised by a high number of international visitors, whose nights spent increased by 0.6% against a 1.8% decrease in the total number of arrivals. These increases have partly compensated for the decrease in the number of nights spent by Italian visitors (-1.6%), accompanied by a reduction, albeit slight, in the number of arrivals (-0.5%). In 2009 Veneto was Italy's second leading region for income from international visitors. This was due not so much to the length of their stays, but to the high number of visitors. Spending by international visitors accounts for a significantly higher proportion of Veneto's economy than it does for the rest of Italy.
In terms of nights spent, in 2009 there were increases in Veneto's well-known seaside resorts, where accommodation establishments hosted almost half of the flows for the whole region. Lakeside and mountain tourism was also on the increase, while the spa resorts and historic cities saw decreases in the numbers of nights spent.
(Chapter 12 in figures)