ENIT at the Fitur fair in Madrid
- Focus on sustainability: Italy outperforms the European average for female and youth employment
- The USA and Spain: top investors in Italy requiring increasingly high standards
- Spanish tourists in Italy: €2.4 billion in tourism spending; Lazio, Lombardy, and Tuscany are the favourite destinations
- Restyling of the ITALIA stand and social commitment through a new collaboration with “Il Tortellante”, an organisation offering employment opportunities to people on the autism spectrum
Rome/Madrid, 21 January 2026. ENIT is present in Madrid for Fitur, the most influential international trade fair for the tourism sector, running until 25 January. This annual meeting brings together professionals, leading companies, international destinations, and visitors passionate about discovering the latest tourism trends, with a specific focus on sustainability.
International markets play a pivotal role in Italy’s sustainable growth process, attracting major tourism flows and top investors. Leading the way are the USA and Spain, markets that generate significant revenue while demanding increasingly competitive and exacting standards. This growth strategy is focused on social and environmental sustainability, extending the season to better manage visitor flows, and the active involvement of communities and businesses in tourism processes. This approach is already yielding tangible results in Italy, as confirmed by WTTC monitoring data: low-carbon energy consumption linked to total travel and tourism energy consumption reduced by 7.9% against a global average of 6%; female employment in Italian tourism at 1.34 million jobs (direct and indirect employment), up from 1.28 million in 2019; direct female employment at 48.6% compared to the European average of 47.8%; high-wage employment in tourism (out of total employment) at 17.1% compared to the European average of 15.4%; and a reduction in youth unemployment, with 134,000 young people employed directly in travel and tourism.
“We closed 2025 with excellent results. We are satisfied with the contribution made to the country’s entire economic system, providing a strong boost to employment and the economy. We are continuing our path of tourism promotion to effectively showcase our destinations, which are increasingly sought after by international tourists. FITUR is the ideal stage to show the evolution of our tourism portfolio, centred on sustainability and the rediscovery of our territories,” comments Ivana Jelinic, CEO of ENIT S.p.A.
“2025 closed with extraordinary results for Italian tourism, with a strong increase in female and youth employment, and the best European average for sustainability: a result that makes us proud and encourages us to do even more. Thanks to our commitment to sustainability, we are attracting more and more tourists, particularly from Spain and the United States. FITUR represents a unique opportunity to show our progress and the beauty of our destinations, while we continue to promote responsible and inclusive tourism,” says the Minister of Tourism, Daniela Santanché.
Participation in Fitur is also strategic given Italy's popularity on the Spanish market: 2025 data indicates approximately 1.4 million air arrivals from Spain (+5.2% on 2024) for tourism purposes, while bookings for the first quarter of 2026 show 250,000 air arrivals already booked, representing 7.1% of the quarter’s total. Of these, 29% are couples’ trips, 25% are solo travellers, and 27% are groups. 50% of these visitors stay for 4 to 7 nights, while 40% stay for a weekend (up to 3 nights). In the first 9 months of 2025, Spanish tourists spent €2.4 billion in Italy, with the main destinations being Lazio (5.2 million overnight stays; €698 million spent), Lombardy (5.1 million overnight stays; €576 million spent), and Tuscany (3.7 million overnight stays; €324 million in tourism consumption).
In 2026, ENIT is unveiling numerous innovations to the public at the world’s most important international tourism events. These include a new stand featuring round arches designed as windows onto Italy’s beauty, a gourmet area in the Italian pavilion with the addition of the new collaboration with “Il Tortellante” (a therapeutic and educational workshop in Modena where young people and adults on the autism spectrum master the art of fresh pasta making), representing a tangible commitment to social responsibility, a healthy corner, a show cooking area, and much more to enhance the visitor experience at the Made in Italy exhibitions.
ENIT also recently participated in the Vakantiebeurs fair in Utrecht, a landmark event for the Northern European market. This was a strategic participation, given how much the Netherlands appreciates Italy. Provisional data for 2025 indicates approximately 830,000 air arrivals from the Netherlands to Italian destinations for tourism purposes (excluding those arriving by other means of transport).