Tuscany still the summer favourite

Italy's largest trade tourism survey in the UK has just been published and a whopping 55% of UK operators have named Tuscany as the top region in terms of bookings between July and September 2010, making it the leading Italian region for summer holidays.

The Association of British Travel Organisers to Italy's (ABTOI) Quarterly Economic and Trends survey for Q3 saw the region surge in terms of bookings from the previous quarter, leaving other areas trailing behind.

The English love affair with Tuscany has been going on for many years and more column inches have been devoted to this region of Italy than any other. Despite the fact that Puglia, Sicily and Amalfi have all had their fair share of publicity over the past couple of years, the Tuscan attraction shows no signs of slowing down or losing its eternal appeal.

ABTOI member Lisa Leggate, villa specialist To-Tuscany commented: "From the visitors' standpoint, the region offers a rich combination of culture, historic cities, agreeable climate and friendly locals - it encapsulates everything that is beautiful about Italy"

Rosa Spatola from wedding specialist The Italian Connection added; "It is evident that the combination of coastline, mountains, countryside and beautiful towns and cities such as Florence and Siena is hard to match. People fall in love with Tuscany and want to return - many for their weddings or honeymoons".

According to the survey, the region was followed in popularity by neighbouring Umbria (34%), Campania (26%) and Sicily (26%). The up and coming region of Puglia also took 15% of bookings as well as Lombardia, which features the classic British favourite destinations of Lake Como and parts of Lake Garda.

Consumer website loveitaly.co.uk is a one - stop shop for holidays to Italy offering region by region information, inside tips, special offers and full contact details of ABTOI members.