Italians (but also tourists in Italy) increasingly like eating out.
According to an elaboration by Unioncamere-InfoCamere on data from the business register as of 31 December 2023, the catering panorama in Italy is growing.
In fact, in one year, there are 4,253 more companies operating in the fixed and mobile catering sector, with an increase of +1.9%.
And, although still with limited numbers, the positive trend also involves street food, the itinerant catering provided with equipped vehicles which records an increase of 7.7%, with 282 more businesses compared to December 2022.
Lovers of food and conviviality can now rely on 226 thousand restaurants, trattorias and pizzerias to consume their meal, of which 3,901 are street vendors.
Reading the territorial data clearly shows that the food sector has grown this year especially in the southern regions.
If the first in the ranking in terms of percentage change is the Aosta Valley (22 more restaurants, with an increase of 3.1%), there are 6 southern regions placed in the top ten positions: Basilicata, Puglia, Calabria, Sicily, Sardinia, and Campania, all variations above 2%.
Lazio occupies third place, while Trentino Alto Adige and Friuli Venezia Giulia complete the "top ten".
Even if there is a slight reduction in the participation of under 35s in the sector (-2.7%), there is a significant increase (+692 companies in one year) in the presence of women with over 58,000 companies as of 31 December 2023 led by women , up 1.2%.
Even more significant is the increase in activities by foreigners: 2 thousand more companies (+5.7%) compared to the previous year which led to the number of activities in the sector managed by non-Italians exceeding 34 thousand.
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