Puglia is doing well on holidays but Bitonto is struggling to welcome – BitontoLive.it

Puglia is an increasingly tourist-oriented land. This is certified by the data recently released regarding the year 2023 which highlights an increase in international tourists compared to the previous year.

In 2023, Puglia welcomed over 16.3 million visitors: +22% in arrivals and +16% in presences compared to 2022.

Overall, there was an increase of +8% in arrivals and +4% in attendance. The share of foreign visitors compared to the total increased from 29 to 34% in just one year, highlighting a positive trend. The figures show an increase in arrivals during the summer months, from June to September (+3% in arrivals and +0.5% in attendance), as well as in the autumn months, from October to December (+10% in attendance and + 5% on overnight stays/attendance). The average length of stay was 3.5 nights.

The latest data released on the regional Data Platform allow us to analyze the presence of tourists for each municipality. The results obtained also in the northern Bari area and the Bat area are decent, however they cannot compete with those of the Itria Valley and with the symbolic places of religious tourism, first and foremost San Giovanni Rotondo.

Ruvo di Puglia stands out with its 22,794 total presences in 2023 alone. There are 16,608 registered Italian presences and 6,186 foreign presences. Italian arrivals are 8,599 while foreign arrivals are 2302.

The figure for Corato is also interesting with its 43,275 total presences in 2023 alone, of which 13,236 Italian presences and 12,039 foreign presences. Italian arrivals are 13,479 while foreign arrivals are 4,464.

Terlizzi’s contribution to tourism is much more modest. There are only 4728 total presents detected, of which 3509 Italian and 1219 foreign. Italian arrivals are 1422 while foreign arrivals are 524.

Bitonto’s contribution is also lower than expected: 19,660 total presences were recorded, of which 12,388 Italians and 7272 foreigners. Italian arrivals are 6,540 while foreign arrivals are 3660 for a total of 10,208 arrivals.

The Apulian municipality that recorded the highest number of presences was Vieste, with over 2 million people, over 600 thousand more than the city of Bari and over double those registered in Lecce. Ugento is the third most relevant destination in terms of attendance, in a ranking mainly dominated by seaside resorts.

To find the first destination in the northern Bari area you need to go down to 26th place in the ranking: it is the city of Trani with its over 146 thousand presences.