Rising numbers of German and Austrian tourists, as well as visitors from outside Europe, are offsetting a decline in people visiting Italy from other European nations.

Italy’s ENIT tourism agency said in a statement that an influx of German speakers had compensated for a dip in tourism from Switzerland, Spain, Portugal, France, Belgium and the Netherlands.

Russia and China represent two major chunks of tourism business from outside the European Union, with the countries accounting for 31 per cent and 16 per cent respectively of Italian duty-free expenditures.

According to a survey of tour operators, holiday packages sold in China rose by between 30 and 80 per cent. Italian consulates in China issued 40 per cent more visas for the first quarter of 2012.

Brazil sent about 10 to 20 per cent more tourists.

The most popular destinations are Tuscany, Venice and the area around Rome.

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