Editing Italy (section)

=== Tourism ===
{{Main|Tourism in Italy}}
[[File:Positano - Fornillo Beach.jpg|thumb|The [[Amalfi Coast]] is one of Italy's major tourist destinations.<ref>[http://www.italy24.ilsole24ore.com/art/business-and-economy/2017-05-04/turismo-stranieri-124013.php?uuid=AEVg9GGB "Foreign tourist numbers in Italy head towards new record"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170601184213/http://www.italy24.ilsole24ore.com/art/business-and-economy/2017-05-04/turismo-stranieri-124013.php?uuid=AEVg9GGB|date=1 June 2017}}. Retrieved 21 May 2017.</ref>]]

People have visited Italy for centuries, yet the first to [[Tourism in Italy|visit the peninsula for tourism]] were aristocrats during the [[Grand Tour]], which began in the 17th century, and flourished in the 18th and the 19th centuries.<ref name="grand-tour">{{Cite web|title=Grand Tour|url=https://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/grand-tour|access-date=6 May 2022|language=it}}</ref> This was a period in which European aristocrats, many of whom were British, visited parts of Europe, with Italy as a key destination.<ref name="grand-tour"/> For Italy, this was in order to study ancient architecture, local culture, and admire its natural beauty.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Italy on the Grand Tour (Getty Exhibitions)|url=http://www.getty.edu/art/exhibitions/grand_tour/what.html|access-date=9 June 2015}}</ref>

Italy is the [[World Tourism rankings|fourth most visited country]], with a total of 57 million arrivals in 2023.<ref>{{cite web |title=World Tourism Barometer |url=https://pre-webunwto.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/2024-06/Barom_PPT_May_2024.pdf?VersionId=U7O62HatlG4eNAj.wcmuQG1PMCjK.Yss |publisher=[[World Tourism Organization]] |access-date=24 June 2024 |date=May 2024 |page=19}}</ref> In 2014, the income from travel and tourism was EUR163{{spaces}}billion (10% of GDP) and 1,082,000 jobs were directly related to it (5% of employment).<ref>{{Cite web|title=Travel & Tourism Economic Impact 2015 Italy |url=https://www.wttc.org/-/media/files/reports/economic%20impact%20research/countries%202015/italy2015.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171010152616/https://www.wttc.org/-/media/files/reports/economic%20impact%20research/countries%202015/italy2015.pdf|archive-date=10 October 2017|access-date=20 May 2017|publisher=[[World Travel and Tourism Council]]}}</ref>

Tourist interest is mainly in [[Culture of Italy|culture]], [[Italian cuisine|cuisine]], [[History of Italy|history]], [[Architecture of Italy|architecture]], [[Italian art|art]], religious sites and routes, wedding tourism, naturalistic beauties, nightlife, underwater sites, and spas.<ref>{{Cite web|date=February 2023|title=In Italia 11mila matrimoni stranieri, un turismo da 599 milioni|url=https://www.ansa.it/canale_viaggiart/it/notizie/speciali/2023/02/01/turismo-wedding-2-milioni-presenze-e-fatturato-599-mln_dcec4ad9-3ab8-4677-a303-6378020ac3a7.html|access-date=2 February 2023|language=it}}; {{Cite web|title=10 Migliori destinazioni italiane per vita notturna|url=https://www.travel365.it/migliori-destinazioni-italiane-per-vita-notturna.htm|access-date=28 December 2021|language=it}}</ref> Winter and summer tourism are present in locations in the Alps and the [[Apennines]],<ref>{{Cite web|date=30 July 2017|title=VACANZE IN MONTAGNA IN ITALIA: IN INVERNO E IN ESTATE|url=https://www.alloggitaly.it/vacanze-in-montagna-in-italia|access-date=1 January 2022|language=it}}</ref> while seaside tourism is widespread among locations along the Mediterranean.<ref>{{Cite web|date=14 February 2018|title=Il turismo balneare|url=https://www.turismo-oggi.com/il-turismo-balneare.html|access-date=1 January 2022|language=it}}</ref> Italy is the leading cruise tourism destination in the Mediterranean.<ref>{{Cite web|date=27 April 2022|title=Crociere, Cemar: 8,8 milioni di passeggeri nei porti italiani|url=https://www.lagenziadiviaggi.it/crociere-cemar-88-milioni-di-passeggeri-nei-porti-italiani|access-date=13 May 2022|language=it}}</ref> Small, historical, and artistic villages are promoted through the association [[I Borghi più belli d'Italia]] ({{Literally|The most beautiful villages of Italy}}).

The most visited regions are Veneto, Tuscany, Lombardy, Emilia-Romagna, and Lazio.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Number of nights spent in tourist accommodation establishments in the top 20 EU-28 tourist regions, by NUTS 2 regions, 2015 (million nights spent) RYB17 – Statistics Explained |url=https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php?title=File:Number_of_nights_spent_in_tourist_accommodation_establishments_in_the_top_20_EU-28_tourist_regions,_by_NUTS_2_regions,_2015_(million_nights_spent)_RYB17.png|access-date=17 April 2022|publisher=European Commission}}</ref> Rome is the third most visited city in Europe, and 12th in the world, with 9.4 million arrivals in 2017.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Ranking the 30 Most-Visited Cities in the World|url=https://www.travelpulse.com/news/destinations/ranking-the-30-most-visited-cities-in-the-world.html|website=TravelPulse}}</ref> Venice and Florence are among the world's top 100 destinations.

Italy has the most [[World Heritage Sites]] of any country: 59,<ref>{{Cite web|title=The World Heritage Convention|url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/convention|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160827065310/https://whc.unesco.org/en/convention|archive-date=27 August 2016|access-date=1 August 2021|publisher=UNESCO}}</ref> of which [[List of World Heritage Sites in Italy|53 are cultural and 6 natural]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Italy|url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/statesparties/it|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211201134320/http://whc.unesco.org/en/statesparties/it|archive-date=1 December 2021|access-date=9 April 2019|publisher=UNESCO World Heritage Centre}}</ref>