Translated by
Nicola Mira
Printed
March 26, 2025
In 2024, Italy consolidated its place as one of many world’s favorite vacationer buying locations, the primary in Europe. Tax-free spending by non-EU guests within the nation continues to develop, having risen by 15% final 12 months, and by 20% if we consider the affect of the brand new minimal threshold of €70 to qualify for VAT rebate, launched by Italy’s Ministry of Tourism in 2024. Among the many nationalities with the best share of tax-free spending in Italy, US vacationers led with a 25% share, adopted by Chinese language (11%) and Center Japanese vacationers (10%). These are among the findings of the survey introduced in Milan on Tuesday, March 25, by World Blue, the worldwide buying tax refund firm, through the Development&Perception 2025 occasion. For the event, Deloitte additionally introduced its first unique report on tourism and retail in Italy, which analysed home and European vacationer flows in addition to non-EU ones.
A panel on the Development&Perception 2025 occasion in Milan – World Blue
Tax-free buying in Italy recorded a CAGR of 6.6% between 2019 and 2024, with notable year-on-year spending progress recorded by Turkish vacationers (up 39%) and Chinese language ones (up 35%). (U)HNWIs, i.e. those that spent greater than €20,000 on tax-free purchases in 2024, contributed considerably to the outcomes. (U)HNWIs accounted for less than 3% of complete buyers, however for 30% of complete spending. Considerably, one third of (U)HNWIs worldwide selected to buy in Italy in 2024.
When it comes to product classes, 34% of tax-free spending in Italy in 2024 was on ready-to-wear, with a 12% improve over 2023 and a median spend per shopper of €1,200. Leather-based items and purses adopted with a 24% share, a 4% rise and a €1,300 common spend, whereas jewelry recorded a 9% share, with a 5% rise and a €1,500 common spend. Regardless of accounting for less than a 7% share, spending within the watches class elevated by 32% over 2023, with a median per shopper of €6,600.
Chinese language vacationers’ spend at pre-Covid ranges, notably in Japan
The 20% progress in tax-free buying spending in Italy was in step with worldwide tendencies. Tax-free spending in Europe as a complete rose by 16%, whereas Asia was the true international driver, recording a 61% spending progress in 2024, mainly due to Japan’s file efficiency. Tax-free spending rebounded slowly within the preliminary post-pandemic years, however in 2024 its efficiency overtook that of the luxurious market as a complete, at present going by a weak patch. Within the 2019-2024 interval, the luxurious sector posted a 5% CAGR, and the tax-free buying sector an 8.5% one. The tax-free sector’s resilience was the results of three components: a 13% improve in travellers and a 29% one in vacationer buyers worldwide; extra inexpensive costs stimulating purchases; and a higher-spending shopper base than the luxurious market as a complete, with a 68% share of aspirational buyers vs a 36% one. Nationality-wise, in 2024 Chinese language vacationers returned to and even exceeded, by 12%, their 2019 spending ranges. They accounted for twenty-four% of world tax-free spend, due to an 81% improve over 2023. Notably, their purchases have been mainly concentrated in Asia: 55% of Chinese language spending occurred in Japan (whose share was up by 13 factors over 2023), equal to a whopping 139% spending improve within the nation, whereas Chinese language tax-free spending in Europe rose by ‘only’ 35%. US vacationers accounted for 14% of world tax-free spending in 2024, a 20% rise. This was the results of the US greenback’s appreciation, the US inventory market’s efficiency, and the elevated international recognition of the numerous manufacturers that determined to open shops within the USA in 2023. Apart from, US buyers are more and more high-spending: American UHNWIs elevated their spend by 50%, contributing to 10% of complete spending. Class-wise, spending grew for each life-style and premium/luxurious manufacturers, with the latter’s CAGR in 2019-2024 at 9.5%, vs 6.3% for the previous. Proof that tax-free buying remains to be a key progress driver for the luxurious market, which is usually struggling to extend its income, as World Blue famous. Apparently, buyers who purchased throughout the luxurious, premium and life-style classes elevated their spend by 39%, with a median spend of €3,400.
Expectations for 2025
US shoppers would be the market’s driving drive in 2025, owing to their robust need to journey (91% of US respondents in a World Blue survey mentioned they wish to go to Europe this 12 months), a file improve in passport numbers (50% of Individuals have one, up 5 factors over 2019), and a need to extend luxurious spending. Conversely, Chinese language tax-free spending will proceed to develop at a slower tempo, given additionally that visas for tour teams are tougher to return by, although the scenario may change within the second half of the 12 months.
The Deloitte research
Throughout Development&Perception 2025, World Blue introduced a part of the unique ‘Travellers’ Retail Market in Italy’ research commissioned to Deloitte. The research discovered that Italy’s present macroeconomic surroundings is beneficial to worldwide tourism, with rising overseas demand enjoying a optimistic half within the nation’s 2024-2025 GDP progress.
In response to the research, in 2024 the offline retail market’s worth in Italy was estimated at roughly €240 billion, of which 27% (€63 billion) was attributable to product classes associated to discretionary buying, whose income returned to pre-Covid ranges due to a 1% CAGR in 2019-2024. About 85% of discretionary buying income (€54 billion) was generated by classes of curiosity to vacationers in Italy, together with vogue and attire, fragrance and cosmetics, footwear, leather-based items, purses and equipment, watches and jewelry. As for vacationer flows, roughly 152 million vacationers (each home and overseas) visited Italian locations in 2024, up 1% over 2023. The variety of worldwide vacationers visiting Italy didn’t attain pre-Covid ranges, however grew by 3% in 2024. Home tourism as a substitute posted a 3% lower in comparison with 2023, additionally as a result of lower in Italian family buying energy. In 2024, about 35 million individuals visited Italy on vacation, spending on common greater than those that visited the nation for different causes. The common size of keep in Italy by overseas vacationers was barely decrease than in 2023, from 4.5 nights to 4.1 nights. Nevertheless, there was a shift in the direction of higher-end accommodations, in step with the optimistic income pattern for 5-star and 4-star accommodations, the place spending per keep grew by 11% and 10% respectively. Excluding lodging bills, the overall expenditure incurred by worldwide vacationers in Italy in 2024 was about €54 billion, up 5% over 2023; of this, 26% was dedicated to buying, the second expenditure class after meals & eating, which had a 42% share. Purchasing spending posted double-digit progress over the earlier 12 months, rising by 10.6% in 2024. Seeking to the longer term, the propensity of foreigners to journey has continued to extend in early 2025, whereas for the following three years, the Italian offline retail marketplace for the principle product classes by which vacationers sometimes spend their cash is anticipated to develop modestly. “[Tax-free spending] growth [in Italy] in 2024 was significant, thanks also to the positive contribution of the lower spending threshold to qualify for VAT rebate. The upward trend has been confirmed in early 2025. It will be crucial for brands to follow the market’s evolution via increasingly comprehensive and in-depth data analysis,” mentioned Stefano Rizzi, managing director Italy of World Blue, a NYSE-listed firm that connects 1000’s of shops, consumers and accommodations with nearly 80 million shoppers in 53 completely different international locations, with tax-free buying, funds and post-purchasing options. With over 2,000 workers and a income of €422 million in fiscal 2023-24, World Blue generated €28 billion of in-store gross sales in the identical 12 months by its options. Tommaso Nastasi, accomplice of Deloitte Italy, mentioned that “international tourism is a strategic driver for the retail trade in Italy, within an unstable macroeconomic environment. Investing in an ad hoc value proposition would enable brands to exploit a high-added-value sector and bolster market growth for the coming years.”
