The Italian Tourism Board will concentrate on steering visitors to the European nation’s lesser-known destinations in a bid to, partially, counter over-tourism issues.
Alessandra Priente, President of ENIT S.p.A., said that strategy will begin in earnest with a strong focus on Milano Cortina for the upcoming 2026 Winter Olympic in February. Milan in Lombardy and Cortina d’Ampezzo in Belluno are 420 kilometres apart but offer a variety of fashion and art, to outdoor activities such as hiking and skiing, viewed as potential drawcards to the region.
“Both regions are working hard on catching people, to encourage them to visit the surrounding area,” Priente said at ILTM Cannes earlier this month in France.
“Big events really create a legacy that we need to capitalise on,” she added.
Other regions of Italy that ENIT will drive tourism towards under the ‘Luminous Destinations 2026’ national project include Puglia, Basilicata, Le Marche, Abruzzo and Sardinia. The objective of the project – lure the world to 99% of Italy that’s still undiscovered.
Priente’s comments come as Italy continues to soar as the top destination in the world for luxury travellers, as stated by Virtuoso in 2025. She noted that Italy has witnessed a 17% increase in overnight stays over the past 10 years, “which shows the luxury segment in Italy is growing steadily, solidly, consistently.”
“Italy is becoming a synonym of luxury and the reason being because of the Italian people and especially the Italian hotel industry,” she said.
Small Luxury Hotels of the World (SLH) and Design Hotels have their highest number of properties in Italy, while Relais & Châteaux is eager to increase its stable of Italian members in that Association, Priente noted.
“[Italy] still holds the core essence of luxury – family traditions, bespoke hospitality, small beautiful and detailed hotels, absolutely personalised and unforgettable experiences.”
She added that Rome is currently going through a rebirth in terms of hospitality with six new five-star hotels flagged to open, including Mandarin Oriental, which is slated to open in 2026. Four Seasons is also developing a property in Rome, mere footsteps away from Vatican City.
With 51% of arrivals into Italy visiting from overseas (mostly from the U.S.), another focus for ENIT will be trying to entice travellers to immerse themselves in what it means to be Italian.
“We don’t take things for granted. We’re very grateful for North Venice, Florence, Milan, Naples, Capri, but our job now is to develop lesser-known Italy into a bigger destination,” Priente said.
“We want the conversation to be way beyond mass tourism or too much tourism.
“There’s no such thing as too much tourism for us.”
“There is badly distributed tourism, and there’s badly managed tourism, but this has absolutely nothing to do with luxury tourism,” Priente said.
The tourism chief also noted that ENIT will collaborate with other major Mediterranean destinations to lure luxury travellers to the region, a strategy the Italian National Tourist Board in Australia has been practicing for many years with its European and British tourism bureaux counterparts.
