Italian cities draw record numbers of cultural tourists in 2017: report

ROME, April 11 (Xinhua) -- Italian cities packed with artistic and historical treasures were a magnet for culture-loving tourists in 2017, according to a report published Wednesday by the Florence-based Center for Tourism Studies (CST).

Last year, cities rich in art and monuments attracted 43.8 million arrivals (2.3 million more compared to 2016) and 115.3 million stays (4.5 million more than the previous year), according to the CST report released by the Italian Tourism Federation.

Visitors to state-run archeological sites, monuments, and museums grew by 10.8 percent, to 50 million visits in 2017 compared to the previous year.

Foreign visitors made up over 60 percent of the total, and they spent 13.9 billion euros (about 17.22 billion U.S. dollars) on their Italian artistic and cultural holidays in 2017.

Museum revenue jumped by 85.6 percent over a seven-year period, from 104.5 million euros in 2010 to 194 million euros in 2017. And the number one destination was Rome, with 21 million visitors in 2017 (66 percent more compared to 2010).

The Italian capital was followed by Florence, Pompeii, Naples and Turin. Enditem