Tourism in Italy generates significant revenue not only for the government and its citizens but also for the Italian mafia, which earns approximately 3.3 billion euros annually from the legal tourism sector. A new report from the Italian research institute Demoskopika reveals that organized crime is infiltrating the Italian tourism industry.
According to Raffaele Rio, president of Demoskopika, more than 7,000 vulnerable businesses are at risk of falling prey to criminal organizations. This report, reviewed by the Italian news agency ANSA, compiles various official statistics, including data from the national statistics bureau Istat and the Bank of Italy.
The world’s most powerful crime organization, ‘ndrangheta, operating in Calabria, earns 1.65 billion euros annually from tourism. The Camorra, active in Naples, earns 950 million euros, while the Sicilian mafia gains about 400 million euros each year.
Tourist regions most likely to experience mafia involvement include Campania, Lombardy, Lazio, Puglia, and Sicily. The mafia infiltrates sectors such as hotel and restaurant chains, taking advantage of the industry’s vulnerabilities, says Rio.
The president of the national statistics bureau indicates that events like the Winter Olympics in 2026, to be held in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo, could also be targets for mafia infiltration.
Source: NOS