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The impact of COVID‐19 on international tourism flows to Italy: Evidence from mobile phone data

Author

Listed:
  • Valerio Della Corte
  • Claudio Doria
  • Giacomo Oddo

Abstract

This paper analyses the response to the COVID‐19 pandemic of inbound tourism to Italy looking at variation across countries and provinces. To this end, it uses weekly data on the number of foreign visitors in Italy from January 2019 until February 2021, as provided by a primary mobile telephony operator. We document a very robust negative relation at the province level between the local epidemic situation and the inflow of foreign travellers. Moreover, provinces with a historically higher share in art‐tourism, and those that used to be ‘hotel intensive’ were hit the most during the pandemic, while provinces with a more prevalent orientation to business tourism proved to be more resilient. Entry restrictions with varying degrees of strictness played a key role in explaining cross‐country patterns. After controlling for these restrictions, we observed that the number of travellers that could arrive by private means of transportation decreased proportionally less. Overall, this evidence emphasises that contagion risk considerations played a significant role in shaping international tourism patterns during the pandemic.

Suggested Citation

  • Valerio Della Corte & Claudio Doria & Giacomo Oddo, 2023. "The impact of COVID‐19 on international tourism flows to Italy: Evidence from mobile phone data," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 46(5), pages 1378-1407, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:worlde:v:46:y:2023:i:5:p:1378-1407
    DOI: 10.1111/twec.13380
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    1. Fabio Castellana & Roberta Zupo & Filomena Corbo & Pasquale Crupi & Feliciana Catino & Angelo Michele Petrosillo & Orazio Valerio Giannico & Rodolfo Sardone & Maria Lisa Clodoveo, 2024. "Exploring Apulia’s Regional Tourism Attractiveness through the Lens of Sustainability: A Machine Learning Approach and Counterfactual Explainability Process," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(15), pages 1-13, July.
    2. Ioannis Arzoumanidis & Manuela D’Eusanio, 2023. "Tourism Sector: The Supply Chain Social Footprint of an Italian Accommodation Facility," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(12), pages 1-12, June.
    3. Marta Crispino & Vincenzo Mariani, 2025. "A Tool to Nowcast Tourist Overnight Stays with Payment Data and Complementary Indicators," Italian Economic Journal: A Continuation of Rivista Italiana degli Economisti and Giornale degli Economisti, Springer;Società Italiana degli Economisti (Italian Economic Association), vol. 11(1), pages 285-312, March.
    4. Caria, Andrea & Delogu, Marco & Meleddu, Marta & Sotgiu, Giovanni, 2024. "People inflows as a pandemic trigger: Evidence from a quasi-experimental study," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 52(C).
    5. E. Guglielminetti & M. Loberto & A. Mistretta, 2023. "The impact of COVID-19 on the European short-term rental market," Empirica, Springer;Austrian Institute for Economic Research;Austrian Economic Association, vol. 50(3), pages 585-623, August.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • I15 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health and Economic Development
    • L83 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Services - - - Sports; Gambling; Restaurants; Recreation; Tourism
    • F14 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Empirical Studies of Trade

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