PRESS RELEASE
Sicily is the dream of the food and wine tourist
According to data from the 2023 Italian Food & Wine Tourism Report, 35% of Italians are planning a trip to discover Sicilian flavours. Sardinia and Puglia follow, while Naples leads the ranking among Italian cities. Abroad, Spain tops the list of preferred countries and Paris leads among international cities.
Sicily and Naples in Italy, Spain abroad: these are the favourite destinations of Italian food and wine tourists according to the report. A journey through Palermo, Catania, Messina and the other Sicilian cities, exploring local flavours and visiting wineries, farms, restaurants and pastry shops, is the main object of desire for the sample surveyed. When asked which Italian regions they would like to visit on future food and wine trips, 35% answered “Sicily”.
Sicily also dominates among travellers already oriented towards food and wine experiences: 48% consider it the best destination for food and wine tourism, ahead of Campania and Emilia-Romagna. In the ranking of future regional flavour tours, Sardinia takes second place and Puglia third, followed by Tuscany, Trentino-Alto Adige, Campania, Emilia-Romagna and Umbria.
Looking more closely at the survey, it is especially younger travellers aged 25 to 34 who desire Sicily as their next food and wine destination, reaching 38%, above the overall average. The ranking, however, remains broadly stable across all age groups. Among female respondents, Tuscany performs particularly well and ranks joint third with Puglia.
The analysis of past travel experiences suggests a broader desire to discover new destinations for future trips focused on taste. Sardinia, which ranks second among regions people want to visit next, is only fifteenth among regions already visited. Sicily itself does not go beyond fifth place in the ranking of already experienced destinations. That ranking is led by Emilia-Romagna, followed by Tuscany and Campania.
“These are Italy’s leading food and wine regions, and it is perfectly natural that, after getting to know their flagship products, Italians now want to discover new places and new flavours,” says Roberta Garibaldi.
Among cities, Naples’ gastronomic appeal faces no real competition. The capital of Campania clearly leads the ranking of the best Italian cities for food and wine tourism, ahead of Bologna and Rome. It is followed by Palermo, Florence, Catania, Milan, Bari, Turin and Lecce.
The report, supported by UniCredit, Visit Emilia, Valdichiana Living and Smartbox, once again highlights Italians’ preference for domestic destinations over foreign ones: 71% chose Italy, 8% chose only foreign destinations and 21% selected both. At the same time, it reveals growth opportunities for some regions with high tourism potential in food and wine terms.
Garibaldi points to regions such as Friuli Venezia Giulia, the Marche and Umbria, which hold outstanding food and wine heritage but are still weakly perceived by travellers. For these smaller regions, as well as places such as Valle d’Aosta and Liguria, prospects linked to food, wine and local products are very strong, but communication needs to become more effective in expressing the richness of their offer.
Looking beyond Italy, the top three countries from a food and wine perspective are all European: Spain, followed by France and Greece. Only two non-European countries appear in the top ten: Japan in seventh place and Mexico in ninth. Among cities, Paris is the most popular, ahead of Barcelona and Madrid. As for future foreign destinations, travellers’ plans largely reflect the ranking of the best countries, with Portugal also emerging as a highly attractive option.
