Tourism in Piedmont Piedmont, a region abounding in natural beauty and artistic treasures, symbol of a land with a rich history that, accompanied by its oeno-gastronomic tradition, is discovering its own unique vocation for tourism with the strong support of all the territory's institutional players. In 2004 tourists who spent at least one night in Piedmont totalled 2,872.642: 62,532 more than in 2003 for a growth of 2.23%. But the real surprise was the number of presences (number of tourists times overnight stays), which for the first time exceeded the threshold of 9 million (9,341,598): 397,253 more than in 2003, for a significant increase of 4,44% and a growth of foreign presences (43.16% of the total). In 2004 Piedmont showed a record-breaking growth in presences over 2000 with an absolute increase of 15.44%, while in the same period presences for Italy as a whole didn't increase much at all. There was also a slight, yet encouraging increase in the average length of stay – 3.25 days. But surprisingly there was no increase for the Lakes tourist district (-1.35%) and Novara (-8.41%), whereas the Olympic mountains showed a slight growth in presences (+3.43%), above all thanks to foreign tourism. There were also slight changes in the rankings by tourist nationality: first place again went to the Germans, who represent 12% of Piedmont's total tourist movement with 1,121,430 presences (+0.96%); French tourism surprisingly jumped into second place, covering 5.21% of the total with 486,364 presences (+15.96%). Next were the British, overtaken by the French despite an increase in presences (477,040, +6.11%), then the Dutch (394,954), with a growth of 14,93% and the Swiss (258,724, +1.86%). A curiosity: while still only ranking fifteenth the Chinese represented a total of 37,890 presences and a record growth over 2003 of 39.28%. What are the preferred destinations for international tourism? The Swedes and Chinese put the Turin metropolitan area in first place, followed by the Lakes tourist district, which is the preferred destination for all other nationalities. For the French, second place went to Turin, followed by the Olympic mountains, whereas the ranking was reversed for the British who prefer snow weeks as opposed to the regional capital. For the Swiss, second place went to the Langhe and Roero areas: for the Americans, hungry for art and museums, Turin. So in 2004 the city of Turin confirmed itself as capital of Piedmontese tourism, breaking through the 2 million mark (2,007,898 total presences). But the real star was Lake Maggiore, with four destinations out of the first five in the rankings (second was Verbania, third Stresa, then Baveno and Cannobio), totalling fully 1,693,129 presences. Next in the top ten was Sestrière, which moved ahead of Novara, seventh, Acqui Terme, new entry, Dormelletto, which was again in ninth place and then surprisingly, Bardonecchia. Also Piedmont's receptive capacity continued to grow considerably – the 3,591 hospitality units recorded for 2004 represent an increase of 6.88% over the 3,360 units in 2003. Beds available for tourism rose from 148,002 in 2003 to 152,195 in 2004, for a growth of 2.83%: figures that still don't take into account all the new beds planned based on projects sustained by Law 18 but not yet completed. Looking at the ratio of Italian to foreign tourists, surprisingly Piedmont's most international destination is Cannobio, with 8,291 Italian presences in 2004 against 258,906 foreign ones. Generally speaking, destinations on the lakes – Verbania, Stresa, Baveno, Cannero Riviera, Orta San Giulio – show a preponderance of International as opposed to Italian tourists. Ranking of Piedmontese Tourist Districts by presences 2004 ranking Lakes tourist district 1 Turin - metropolitan area 2 Valle di Susa and Pinerolese 3 Cuneo 4 Alexala 5 Valsesia and Vercelli 6 Novara 7 Canavese and Valli di Lanzo 8 Langhe and Roero 9 Biella 10 Asti 11 Hospitality in Piedmont – number of beds 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 Hotel beds 66,410 66,150 67,588 68,732 70,632 Non-hotel 74,453 77,833 78,694 79,270 81,563 beds Total 140,863 143,983 146,282 148,002 152,195 File prepared by Roberto Strocco, Unioncamere Piemonte R & D Office Tel. +39 011 5669260, E-mail [email protected] For further information please contact: Press Office - Unioncamere Piemonte, Tel. +39 011 5669270/1 E-mail [email protected], http://www.piemonteincifre.it .