Summer tourism 2026: foreign travelers drive spending with 9% growth

Foreign travelers confirm themselves as the driving force for the growth in tourist spending also for summer 2026: according to data from Mastercard's regional tourism observatory, between May and August the item grew by 9% compared to the same period (May-August) last year and reached 61% of the total. A trend behind which there are the rising numbers of some countries: if the Germans continue to represent the main flow, within the EU Spain stands out (+32%) and, globally, Turkey (+25%) and Australia (+25%).

At a territorial level, Lombardy and Veneto are the regions most affected by international flows, while in the south Campania, Sicily and Sardinia in particular are confirmed.

For Luca Corti, Mastercard's Italy country manager, «Italy once again confirms its extraordinary ability to attract visitors from all over the world. Like Mastercard, our commitment is to put innovation and technology at the service of this attractiveness."

The weight of the villages

International tourists are attracted not only by large destinations but also by small towns: in the summer quarter there is a tourist expenditure in the villages equal to 8% of the overall national expenditure, with an international component close to the overall average. The widespread diffusion of tourism outside the traditional tourist tour "can be a barrier against the depopulation of internal areas" underlines Fiorello Primi, president of Borghi d'Italia, the association founded in 2002 with the aim of enhancing small towns under 15 thousand inhabitants which today has 382 members.