| v> | | | | the Italian market, Rome is the most popular city by far: |
| Even in this time of crisis, Rome has proved to be one | | | | if you plan to spend your holidays there, make sure |
| of the favourite travel destinations of Italian and foreign | | | | you book an apartment or an hotel for New |
| tourists. According to a research carried out by | | | | Year’s Eve in adequate advance. |
| Expedia, one of the most important online tour | | | | If compared to other Italian cities, Rome had positive |
| operators, Rome has been the Italian city that best | | | | results not only during Christmas time, but also during |
| managed the tourism drop-off during the black | | | | summer and spring holidays. The favourite destinations |
| biennium (2008-2009). The credit of this result goes to | | | | of summer 2009 were, besides classic seaside resorts |
| the differentiation of the touristic offer, with suitable | | | | (Spain and Greece in Europe, Sicily in Italy), London the |
| solutions for both pilgrimsand fashion-victims, and to the | | | | omnipresent and other European cities, such as |
| wide range of accommodations succeeding in meeting | | | | Stockholm, Copenhagen and Rome, which registered |
| everyone’s needs: from youth hostels to central | | | | an increase in reservations in comparison to 2008. |
| apartments, from budget hotels to country villas. | | | | During Easter holidays and the 1st of May, in spite of |
| A deep analysis of the data collected by Expedia | | | | the tourist drop-off of in art cities to the good of small |
| shows that in the last two years Rome has been the | | | | villages, Rome entered the chart, along with Venice |
| choice of Italian visitors all over the year and, therefore, | | | | during Easter, Florence and Modena on the 1st of May. |
| the most important touristic market nation-wide. | | | | As mentioned above, there is a number of reasons |
| Moreover, in 2008 Rome has been one of the few | | | | explaining the success of The Eternal City as a tourist |
| European capital cities, along with London and Vienna, | | | | destination, and the most of them are easy to |
| that registered an increase in the tourist turnout, | | | | understand. On the one hand, Rome is a wonderful art |
| although it is still far from many destinations of the old | | | | city, marked on the maps of the religious tourism. On |
| and the new continent, appearing in the top travel | | | | the other, it is a metropolis rich in events and sites to |
| destinations. In particular, New York was, at the end of | | | | visit, considered one of the most important fashion |
| 2009, the favourite destination for Italian people: a clear | | | | districts in the world. However, Rome would not be |
| sign of the dollar weakness, as already happened in | | | | such a popular destination without the wide range of |
| London, where a great number of Italians were | | | | accommodations offered to visitors:a hostel for young |
| attracted by a weak pound. After New York and | | | | people, maybe attending to the concert of the 1st of |
| London, this year Italians chose to spend their | | | | May, a cheap apartment or an hotel for families, a |
| Christmas holidays in Paris, Madrid, Berlin, Prague, | | | | simple but cosy room in a bed & breakfast or even a |
| Budapest, Miami, Amsterdam, Vienna and, eventually, | | | | prestigious country villa, if you cannot give up the |
| Rome, at the 11th place. However, if we consider only | | | | luxury. |