Tourism

Italy is one of the top travel destinations, in Europe. With its coastline beaches, beautiful islands, alpine mountains and lakes, and its central location, visitors enjoy Italy for its country-side, as well as its culture.

Italys official name is Republica Italiana (Italian Republic). Italy is a boot-shaped peninsula, located on the Mediterranean Sea, surrounded by the Lugurian Sea, the Sardinian Sea, the Tyrrhenian Sea on the west, Sicilian and Ionian Sea on the south, and Adriatic Sea on the east side. Italy shares borderlines with the countries of France, Switzerland, Australia, and Slovenia.

A majority of Italy is mountains, Alps, and highland countryside. The Alps Alps stretch from east to west along Italys northern boundary, and the Apennines Apennines stretch southward the length of the peninsula.

The total area of Italy is 116,346, a little larger than Arizona, and has an estimated 2009 population of 60,325,000. The country has a variety of ethnic groups, including Italian (includes small clusters of German-, French-, and Slovene-Italians in the north and Albanian-Italians and Greek-Italians in the south). The main language is Italian, although German is spoken closer to the borders, and the capital is Rome. The euro is the main monetary unit in Italy. Their religion is predominantly Roman Catholic, and the leader for their government is the Prime Minister.

The climate, in Italy, is considered Mediterranean, with cooler climates near the mountains, and dry, hot temperatures, in southern Italy. The weather in Italy varies, depending on the distance from the coastline or mountains, and the season. Winter is very cold, in the Alps, and the coastline is mild and warmer. The summers, near the coastline, are hot and dry, with the Alpine summer temperatures being cool, yet comfortable. There are some specific cautions and hazards in Italy that include flooding, earthquakes, mudflows and landslides, avalanches and volcanic eruptions.

Tourism is one of Italys major industries. Italys 2009 economy was derived from three basic areas industry (25), services (72.9), and agriculture (2.1). Throughout Italy, there are excellent resorts and hotel facilities, to accommodate the summer tourist season, the snow-bound guests, in the Alps, and holiday visitors, during spring and autumn. Italy is only six hours ahead of the United States Eastern Standard Time, and daylight saving time is observed from March to October.

Italy has a rich history that contributes to its huge success in the tourism industry. The country has always struggled to maintain neutrality, within Europe, and allied with other countries to become stronger and more stable. Currently, Italys problems include illegal immigration, organized crime, high unemployment, sluggish economy, with low incomes and underdeveloped technologies. Nevertheless, Italy has enjoyed being the fourth highest tourist earner, in the world, with more than 43.7 million tourists a year. Tourism is the fastest growing industry, in Italy, earning 42.7 billion, a year that allows even working-class families to enjoy an Italian holiday, along the coastline and mountainside. Italy is divided into Regions that include Northern Italy, Northeast Italy, Central Italy, Southern Italy, Sicily, and Sardinia. Within each region are towns, where tourists can experience the rich culture and history of each area. Each area has something special that draws tourists, in any season, from all over the world. There are a variety of hotels in each region, rated from 1-7 stars, depending on the number of rooms and number of beds, in the hotel. Italy has some of the worlds oldest, historic hotels that add to the authenticity of Italys tourism experience.

Although there are hundreds of cities, in Italy. Some of the most famous cities in Italy are Rome, the capital Bologna, full of history, culture, and technologies Florence, known for its architecture and art Genoa, a very wealthy city, with art and architecture Milan, a fashion, import, trade and business city of the world Naples, a historic city with ancient ruins Pisa, home of the famous leaning Tower of Pisa Turin, the first capital of Italy and a famous industrial and automobile city and Venice, full of beauty, art, and history. The cities in Italy are centrally located, so tourists can easily travel from each different location, per their preference. National parks and the Alps are popular tourist attractions, for those tourists who enjoy the outdoors. Italy has national parks throughout the entire country.

Traveling to Italy is very easy. If you are traveling by airplane, you can fly Italys national airline, Lufthansa. Many airlines connect the European countries, as well. Tourists, who enjoy traveling by train, are able to board the many connections between the surrounding European countries. Traveling by car is also an option, with neighboring countries welcoming tourists. Whether you are going to the beaches, visiting the vineyards, cycling, sailing, shopping, people watching, or just enjoying the central locations of their restaurants and night life, Italy has it all, within a short distance of each activity.

Life in Italy is dedicated to modern Italian life and culture - showcasing the Italy of today, rather than focusing on Italys past. Life in Italy is a place where expats, Italian-Americans, travelers or any Italophile can learn about the very latest from Italy. The water is drinkable, in Italy, and Italy can be traveled on a budget. Seasoned travelers know they should carry the phone number of their embassy with them, while traveling. Italy is known for being warm and welcoming, so as long as you respect the country and the people.

The number of arrivals decreases by 4 in 2009 to reach 38 million. The good winter skiing season partially compensates for the loss of tourists in summer 2009 due to the international financial crisis. The number of arrivals is expected to be stagnant over the forecast period due to a slow recovery from the crisis and to competition from other European countries. Due to the high number of German tourists visiting Italy every year, Germany remained the highest inbound country in terms of spending. In 2009, German tourists in Italy spent EUR6.7 billion. The US was ranked second with tourist expenditure reaching EUR6.5 billion, an increase of 3 boosted by the US dollars recovery against the euro.

Whether you are in Italy for business or pleasure, traveling by airplane or automobile, staying in a leisure resort or an outdoor campsite, Italy is the country that has everything you need and everything you have ever wanted. Italy will be the top tourist destination among European countries for American tourists in 2010-2011, according to a market study by US tour operators. Some trade magazines such as Travel Leisure, Cond Nast Traveler, and Recommend have assigned numerous awards to Italy Rome, Florence and Venice as the top European destinations the Aeolian Islands as the top European islands and Italy as the top European destination.