Luxury tourism is confirmed as a strategic opportunity for Italy, capable of combining economic growth and sustainability. Manfredi Lefebvre D’Ovidio, the first Italian at the helm of the WTTC, indicates infrastructure, training and investments such as the keys to make the country leader in the sector.
Italian tourism is experiencing an unprecedented growth phasedriven not only by the strength of the Italian brand but also by a repositioning towards the high range. To confirm it is Manfredi Lefebvre D’Ovidio, long -term entrepreneur and today first Italian to hold the presidency of the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC)the most important world organization in the sector. His vision is clear: luxury tourism is not an elitist and marginal segment, but a model capable of generating economic, social and environmental value without weighing excessively on the territories.
The Summit of the World Travel & Tourism Council, hosted for the first time in Rome, has just ended, which brought together over 1,300 leaders in the sector from all over the world. The event offered Italy an unprecedented international showcase, generating new business opportunities and strengthening the image of the country: a look at European data helps to better understand the picture. In 2023 tourism engraved decisively on tax revenues and employment, with a significant social impact: Almost half of the workers are women and over 13% young people. At the same time, the sector remains responsible for about 13% of emissions and maintains a strong dependence on fossil fuels, a sign that the ecological transition represents a challenge still open. The prospects for 2025 are of strong growth: according to estimates, Tourism will contribute up to 1.9 trillion euros to the European Union GDPequal to over 11% of the entire economy, will support about 30 million jobs and will generate further 600 billion dollars of international spending. Numbers that confirm it as a strategic pillar for competitiveness, employment and sustainability.
It is in this scenario that Lefebvre places his reflection on Italy. For him high -end tourism represents a great opportunity: «Luxury tourism brings a huge economic value and at the same time a impact contained in the area. Few people can generate the same wealth as large masses of travelers, but without crowding cities or overloading natural places. And above all they offer a different experience, made of welcome, professionalism and widespread quality. It is a model that reduces the tensions related to loveourism and brings concrete benefits to local communities ».
However, the challenge is to manage this growth in a balanced way. For Lefebvre, the key word is sustainability, understood in a broad sense. Not only respect for the environment, but also Economic balance and social cohesion. It means expanding seasonality, distributing flows better, encouraging those who choose alternative periods and destinations. “If tourists all arrive at the same time, cities are saturated and visitors no longer live a positive experience. It is essential to extend the seasons, support the lesser known territories, reward those who move outside the usual paths. Only in this way can tourism really be sustainable and advantageous for everyone “explains the entrepreneur.
The central node remains that of infrastructures. Many Italian destinations have an extraordinary potential, but they are still difficult to reach. Lefebvre brings a concrete example: “I went to Maratea, who has a wonderful hotel and a statue of Christ like that of Rio de Janeiro. It is an extraordinary place, but getting there is a company. If there were simpler and faster connections, the question would grow enormously. Italy cannot afford to lose opportunities of this type “.
Next to infrastructure, technology plays an increasing role. Artificial intelligence, Lefebvre observes, can facilitate the sector by making the meeting between supply and demand more immediate, simplifying choices and reservations. However, it is not enough to resolve the question of concentration of flowswhich remains a structural problem.
International events are instead an extraordinary development lever. From the Milan-Cortina 2026 Olympics to the Naples America Cupour country has appointments that can be transformed into global windows. However, the future also passes through investments and training. The members of the WTTC have agreed on 8 billion euros of investments for Italy in the next four years, including new structures, redevelopments and digital innovation. Equally decisive will be the growth of human capital: «Tourism is an extraordinary social lift. A boy can start as a waiter and become hotel manager, if he has talent and motivation. But for this reason schools of excellence also serve in Italy. Why should the best be in Lausanne? Why not create a training center here capable of attracting students from all over the world? ». Lefebvre’s gaze is full of trust: with modern infrastructures, qualified training, important events and targeted investments, Italy has all the credentials to become Global leader in luxury tourism. «I am convinced that our country has an extraordinary opportunity in front of it. Tourism can be not only an engine of economic growth, but also a tool to strengthen our identity, improve the quality of life of communities and guide the transition to a more sustainable future. It is up to us to be able to grasp it ».
