Culture, nature, and...good food. The revival of foreign tourism is also increasing consumption in public facilities. More than 65 million foreign visitors to our country spent an average of over 212 euros per person on breakfasts, lunches, dinners, and aperitifs in the year just concluded, for a total of over 13.8 billion euros—the most since 2019. Fiepet, the Confesercenti-affiliated association of public enterprises, estimates this based on statistics from the ERC and Florence's Center for Tourism Studies. The driving force is the increase in foreign presences, which increased by 13.7% last year, reaching an absolute value of approximately 228.5 million, higher than the previous year before the pandemic. A large number of vacationers have expressed their appreciation for our country not only for its artistic cities and villages, beaches, and countryside, but also for its lifestyle, particularly cuisine: spending at bars and restaurants accounts for 33% of total foreign travel consumption in Italy, which is expected to reach 42 billion euros in 2023, up 7.8% from 2022. Foreign visitor spending has increased to 4% of total spending in the area, fully rebounding from pre-Covid levels.
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