1. City Travel Briefing: Venice
July 2012

2. Key findings Cultural offer
Introduction
Key findings
Cultural offer
Art and culture are the main attraction in Venice. The city has several important museums which rank among the most visited in Italy.
2011 good performance
Arrivals to Venice showed a very good performance in 2011 after the stagnation in 2009, continuing the recovery of 2010, with total arrivals reaching almost 5 million tourists.
Contemporary art scene
The Biennale Internazionale d’Arte is the oldest contemporary art exposition in the world, and attracts many visitors to the city.
Expensive hotel accommodation
Venice continues to be among the most expensive cities for hotel accommodation in Italy, with an ADR of EUR153 in 2011.
Infrastructure
Venice is easily reachable by car, rail, air and sea. Recent infrastructure improvements have been undertaken aimed at making the city even more attractive and accessible to visitors from all around the world.
Hotels and gastronomy
Venice has a wide offer of hotel and other accommodation outlets, including many in the luxury segment. In addition, the city has a large number of restaurants, including Michelin starred ones.
BRIC countries
Tourism from the BRIC countries represent a very important market for Venice, with strong scope for development. Russian tourist numbers increased by 50% in 2011, while Chinese and Brazilian tourist numbers rose by around 40%.
Business
Venice currently hosts around 14 business exhibitions per year, and the city is constantly improving its offer in order to attract more MICE tourism.

3. SWOT: Venice UNESCO’s list Contemporary Art scene Morphology
Key Facts
SWOT: Venice
UNESCO’s list
Contemporary Art scene
Morphology
Value for money
Venice is one of the most famous Italian cities and it is listed on UNESCO’s World Heritage list together with its lagoon. The city offers history, culture and art, as well as nature and gastronomy.
The Biennale Internazionale d‘Arte is the oldest and one of the most important contemporary art expositions in the world. It is held every two years and brings visitors from all around the world.
Venice has more than bridges connecting the islands, and can thus be difficult to visit for people with reduced mobility, the elderly, parents with a pram and visitors carrying luggage.
Venice is considered an expensive city by many tourists. In particular, hotel accommodation as well as restaurants and bars charge high prices compared to other destinations, as well often as in relation to the quality offered.
Cruise destination
Nature and wildlife
Flood tides and MOSE
Dangers of mass tourism
Venice has a major port which is the most important in the Mediterranean for cruise tourism and the 10th in the world in terms of number of passengers.
Venice is unique in its natural environment. The Venice Lagoon is home to an important ecosystem, which is a component in the tourism appeal of the area.
The city is threatened by flood tides from the Adriatic sea between autumn and early spring. The MOSE project was inaugurated in 2003 and expected to be completed by 2014.
Venice has several problems related to mass tourism: depopulation of the historic city, overcrowding of public transport, and environmental issues.

4. Inbound arrivals Venice Arrivals by Country 2011/2016 ‘000 people 2011
Tourism Flows
Inbound arrivals
Venice Arrivals by Country 2011/2016
‘000 people
2011
2016
% growth 2011/2016
USA
554
611
10.3
France
373
396
6.1 UK
245
262
6.8
Germany
232
5.8
Spain
225
240
6.7
Japan
198
208
5.2
China
166
253
52.5
Brazil
145
43.3
Australia
138
156
12.8
Russia 80
130
62.1
TOTAL
4,217
4,663
Source: Euromonitor International estimates from Assessorato al Turismo/APT data
In 2011, the US accounted for the most inbound tourists to Venice, registering an 8% increase compared to 2010 figures. It is expected that growth will continue over the forecast period.
In 2011, the traditional European markets of France, UK, Germany continued to be in the top ranking, and saw increases of 10%, 10% and 15%, respectively, compared to 2010. 
The forecast period is expected to see a strong increase in tourism from the BRIC countries. Russia, Brazil and China, in particular, are expected to be among the main inbound countries in terms of arrivals to Venice. 
Russian arrivals increased by more than 50% between 2010 and 2011, while arrivals from Brazil and China increased by more than 40%.
In the coming years, there is expected to be an increase in direct flights to and from Asia from Marco Polo airport, in particular to China, in order to ease travel between these countries.

5. Domestic tourism trends
Tourism Flows
Domestic tourism trends
Domestic tourism represented about 13% of the total number of arrivals to Venice in 2011, with more than 613,000 arrivals.
The majority of domestic tourism is led by the five regions of Tuscany, Lazio, Lombardy, Veneto and Emilia-Romagna, which accounted for roughly 48% of the total number of domestic trips for 2011.
About 21% of domestic tourism in Venice comes from Lombardy. It is followed by Lazio, with about 16% of domestic visitors, and Piedmont, with about 9%.
In terms of average length of stay, 51% of Italians spend less than three days when travelling within Italy. Car continues to be the preferred way for Italians to travel within Italy; however, air transport is increasing in importance thanks to the new routes that are connecting many destinations in Italy, offering low cost flights.
It is expected that the number of domestic tourists will increase in the coming years, aided in part by the economic crisis, as Italians will tend to holiday locally in order to save money.
Venice Domestic Tourism Trips 2011/2016
‘000 trips
2011
2016
% growth
Italy
613
625
2.0
Source: Euromonitor International estimates from Assessorato al Turismo/APT data

6. Attractions and Activities
Tourist attractions
Art and culture: main attractions in Venice
Tourists choose Venice mainly for its unique nature: Venice and its Lagoon are on the UNESCO’s World Heritage list.
In the top 10 of the most visited places in Venice there are cultural attractions, such as museums and palaces, as well as the cityscape: St Mark’s Basilica, the Grand Canal, Rialto Bridge and Piazza San Marco, which are among the most visited sites of the city. The Lido di Venezia is also a popular international luxury destination, attracting thousands of actors, celebrities and people in the film industry, particularly during the Festival del Cinema.
Venice Lagoon is home to an ecosystem which is unique in the world, with many species of plants and animals.
The most visited tourist attractions in Venice are Palazzo Ducale, Museo di San Marco, Gallerie dell'Accademia and the Collezione Peggy Guggenheim.