Wedding Tourism on the Rise in Italy

Saying “yes” in Italy is increasingly popular. Wedding tourism is becoming a flagship of the industry. Italian weddings are an attractive experience for many foreigners.

Just in 2022, wedding tourism recorded a turnover of 599 million euros in Italy, about 11% more than the levels estimated in 2019. There are 11,000 foreign couples who have chosen to get married in Italy, and 54% decide on the symbolic rite. In 2023, another increase of about 10% is estimated.

Italy is often chosen as the location for such an important day because future spouses want to discover authentic, unusual places with cultures and new traditions, which are not just those ‘ must-sees’ that everyone is aware of. The key word is experience.

A destination wedding is therefore configured as an increasingly growing trend of choosing to celebrate one’s wedding in a residence other than one’s own and Italy is registering important consensus, such that this is considered a great opportunity for the economy national and local.

The type of couple who choose the destination wedding is a medium-high target, with an age range from 25 to 35 years (70%). A very important aspect to consider is that the budget invested is much higher than in a traditional wedding, with the same number of guests, which in the case of a destination wedding ranges from 40 to 70, without counting collateral costs, from the wedding planner to photographers to caterers. Based on the length of stay, spouses and guests stay an average of 3 nights.

Tuscany is the top wedding destination in Italy, with 21% of foreign couples choosing its scenic and artistic beauties, followed by Lombardy and Campania. Apulia appears to be growing rapidly and the whole supply chain is networking to create a quality product that can attract more and more couples.

The great challenge for Italy will be to enhance all the other destinations that are not just luxury and also make known the areas less inflated by mass tourism. At the top of the statistics, the United States is the market that holds the record with 33,7%, followed by the UK, Switzerland, Northern Europe, Germany, France, Holland, Australia, Russia, Belgium and China.