Foreign tourism in Genoa: the 2025 figures
Foreign tourism is one of the central issues for Genoa’s accommodation market. Data from the Liguria Region shows that in June 2025, foreign visitors recorded an increase of +12.19% compared to the same month in 2024, while arrivals from abroad grew by +9.06%. This is however a single month’s figure and refers to the whole of Liguria: for the full year 2025 Istat records arrivals down 0.9% and overnight stays up 2.3% in Italy.
Sjaak Kempe from Groningen, The Netherlands, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
“The balance is positive both for Italian tourists (+1.6%) and for foreign ones (+12.19%)”
— Luca Lombardi, Tourism Councillor, Liguria Region
But who are these tourists who increasingly choose Genoa as a destination? In the Ligurian figures for May 2024, the most recent available at this level of detail, Germans, French and Swiss ranked in the top three positions by origin, with a +33% from Germany. This figure confirms the traditional appeal of the Central European market, which finds in Genoa an easily accessible destination with abundant tourist opportunities.
Again at national level, in 2025 Istat records arrivals down 0.9% and overnight stays up 2.3% compared to 2024, while the foreign component alone grows both in arrivals (+1.4%) and in overnight stays (+4.3%).
Length of stay and behavior patterns
A particularly interesting aspect concerns the length of stay. The average duration in accommodation facilities remained substantially stable at 2.82 nights, with a slight preference for foreign tourists (3.13 nights) compared to Italian ones (2.50 nights). This data indicates that international visitors tend to plan longer stays, probably to offset travel costs and to fully enjoy the Genoa experience.
Urban tourism relies mainly on short stays, a pattern that fits the characteristics of Genoa’s accommodation offer. This preference is also reflected in the choice of accommodation types.
In the fourth quarter of 2025 foreign tourists generated 56.5% of total overnight stays in Italy, with an increase of 5.1%, while the non-hotel segment grew more than the hotel one. This trend towards short-term rentals and alternative accommodation solutions represents a significant opportunity for property owners.
The geography of foreign tourism in Genoa
Analyzing in more detail the origin of international visitors, an articulated picture emerges. Tourists from Germany, USA, France and the United Kingdom are at the top for number of stays. According to Istat data, tourists from Switzerland and Liechtenstein and the Netherlands follow. These first six nationalities represent 57.4% of total foreign stays.
But the market is not limited to Europe. Tourism from the United States and other non-European countries such as Canada remains stable, a sign that Genoa is also conquering long-haul markets, traditionally more difficult to penetrate for a medium-sized destination.
The geographic distribution also reflects accessibility strategies: European markets benefit from geographic proximity and direct connections, while non-European ones are attracted by the uniqueness of the cultural offering and Genoa’s inclusion in broader tours of the Italian territory.
“In 2024, Liguria ranked third in Italy for tourist arrivals in relation to regional size with 5.2 million arrivals”
— Luca Lombardi, Tourism Councillor, Liguria Region
Average spending and economic impact of foreign tourism
The analysis of economic impact reveals significant figures. The average daily spending of international visitors is generally higher than that of Italian tourists, and varies significantly depending on the type of accommodation.
This spending difference translates into a significant economic impact for the territory. In the first 7 months of 2025, Italy recorded 268.4 million stays (+5.7% vs 2024), with foreign spending in the first half at €24.9 billion and tourism balance at +€9.2 billion.
Locally, the increase in foreign stays is also reflected in municipal revenues. In 2024, the collection of tourist tax in Genoa rose from €5.1 million to €7.3 million, an increase of 44% compared to the previous year, a figure that testifies to the intensification of international tourist flows.
Short-term rentals: the opportunity for property owners
The growing interest of foreign tourists in Genoa has generated a real boom in short-term rentals. In 2023, there are 785,552 overnight stays in Genoa in apartments for tourist use, 39.3% more than in 2022 and 77.5% more than in 2019.
Image generated with AI (Google Gemini)
In Liguria, furnished apartments for tourist use (so-called Aaut) active on the regional portal number 39,099 according to January-September 2025 data. The province of Savona has 12,165, followed by Genoa with 11,569.
This trend represents a concrete opportunity for property owners. Short-term rentals are no longer just an income source, but have become the “business card” of the territory: many buyers today discover villages and coves by staying in vacation homes, then decide to invest permanently.
Post-Covid recovery: a consolidated success
The success of foreign tourism in Genoa must be framed within the context of post-pandemic recovery. Over 600,000 more overnight stays were recorded in 2023 compared to 2019, representing a 29% increase compared to the pre-Covid period. The foreign component grew by 16% in one year for overnight stays in hotel facilities and by 13% for the total overnight stays in the city.
In 2022 the post-pandemic rebound had taken US and British overnight stays in Genoa to +270% and +323% respectively over 2021. The foreigners who prefer to spend their holidays in Genoa are the Germans: from Germany, in fact, 297,497 arrived in 2022; followed by the French, 260,448 (52% more than 2021).
The recovery was not only numerical, but also qualitative. 2023 is marked by strong recovery of the foreign component, which in Italy has returned to represent more than half of tourism demand in terms of overnight stays (52.4% of the total).
Future prospects and implications for the real estate market
The prospects for foreign tourism in Genoa appear solid and growing. The short-term rental market in Italy confirms its solidity, with an increase in tourism and business demand in many cities. The sector continues to capture a significant share of international tourist bookings.
The average gross profitability of rental homes rises to 9.8% in Q2 2025 (it was 9.3% a year earlier). A level of return that makes investment in the short-term rental sector attractive.
For property owners in Genoa, these data represent a concrete opportunity to increase the value of their real estate assets. The constant growth of foreign tourism, combined with the preference for apartment stays and the higher average spending of international visitors, creates ideal conditions for a profitable investment in the tourism rental sector.
The challenge for the future will be maintaining this positive trend, focusing on the quality of the offer and the professionalization of the sector, key elements to consolidate Genoa’s position in the international tourism landscape.
Processing of public data and sources. genovabb.it is not a news publication. The data reported have been collected from sources believed to be reliable but their accuracy is not guaranteed.
