More good news on the tourism front at Easter, the traditional litmus test for the summer.
Many Italians will take a mini break and many foreigners will come to Italy, even traveling alone.
According to the survey by Federalberghi via Tecnè, there will be 10.5 million Italians traveling for Easter.
92% will remain in Italy, while 8% will choose a foreign location.
The favorite destinations for travelers who will remain in Italy will be the sea (32.5%), the art locations (28.9%), the mountains (21.8%), the lakes (3.4%) and spa resorts (2.5%).
For those who will go abroad, the major European capitals win (74.4%), followed by cruises (10.2%) and the sea (6.3%).
Tourism confirms itself as an exceptional driver for the local economy, creating a turnover of 3.9 billion euros.
Federturismo Confindustria also sees success and confirms a 20% increase compared to 2023. Driving growth, in addition to the cities of art, are above all the destinations in the South, which benefit from a milder climate and a variety of offers, from beautiful beaches, archaeological sites, historic villages, spas: in particular, Sicily records a +30% of bookings.
Good news also from organized tourism.
"The data on Easter - says Franco Gattinoni, president of Fto - highlight a growth of around 20% in turnover compared to the year 2023, even if the year-on-year comparison for the spring holidays is never simple, changing periods and length of the long weekends depending on the calendar. Since Easter is very early, the Italian destination has a marginal if not minimal weight on weekends. Instead, thanks to the fact that this year the holiday is at the end of March, Tanzania, Kenya, the Indian Ocean, the Caribbean and Egypt have benefited from this. The first destination in terms of volumes remains Egypt despite the destination showing a contraction of around 30% in bookings due to the Middle Eastern crisis."
Enit underlines that approximately 29% of passengers will stay as a couple, but 34.2% will visit Italy alone;
followed by 10.0% of small groups of four passengers and a further 9.6% of three.
To date, approximately 217 thousand airport passengers have been confirmed for the two weeks of Easter, from 25 March to 7 April 2024, 9.0% more than for the same Easter period in 2023 (3-16 April).
The length of stay increases by one night, reaching 10.2 nights, while the cancellation rate of reservations decreases by -0.4%.
The main countries of origin are headed by the domestic market of Italy, followed by the United States, Germany, France, Spain, the United Kingdom, South Korea, Brazil and the Netherlands.
Federterme Confindustria confirms that "Italians are increasingly looking for natural well-being and prevention for this Easter and for the April long weekends with a demand of +12% compared to last year".
Codacons raises the alarm for the increase in tariffs for both planes and accommodation facilities.
Anyone who decides to treat themselves to a week at the seaside abroad in one of the most popular locations during Easter must take into account an expense for plane tickets of no less than one thousand euros for the return trip.
Rates for accommodation in art cities also appear to be rising sharply, thanks to the recovery of tourism.
Reproduction reserved © Copyright ANSA