Italy Property Investment News

Italian tourism boosts rental potential

A new report has suggested that investors in Italian property can expect to see further growth in the country's tourism industry, driven largely by Spanish visitors. According to ANSA, the Italian news agency, 1.8 million Spanish holidaymakers visited Italy last year – an increase of 3%. This means that Spaniards accounted for the largest group of foreign tourists in the country during 2007.

Prompted by this news, officials from the tourism sector have traveled to Madrid in order to promote the country as a holiday destination. Representatives of 170 bodies in the industry are participating in the FITUR tourism trade fair, which began on January 30th.

If this growing interest from Spanish holidaymakers continues to drive up Italy’s already-established tourism industry, this will trigger extra demand for rental accommodation across the country, which in turn means that Italy could become a much more enticing option for prospective investors in foreign property.

As well as the traditionally popular areas such as Tuscany, investors are advised to look to the lesser-known regions in the south including Calabria and Puglia. Spanish developers have recently moved into this area, which has previously been tipped as an emerging market within one of Europe’s more established and stable real estate markets. The south of Italy is – in general - less prosperous than the north, but increasingly its stunning coastal areas are attracting attention among holidaymakers and property investors alike. Also, prices are considerably lower than in the north.

A poll by A Place in the Sun magazine recently found that the country was one of the five most popular investment markets among British buyers.