Almost everyone in Italy, but over a third at home: alongside the 35 million Italians who will leave this summer, there is 41% who will not take their holidays or will postpone them to other times of the year, mainly for economic reasons. The preferred destination is Italy, where will the 90% of travellersfollowed by Greece, Spain and Croatia, growing compared to the trend of recent years: this is revealed by a survey of Federalberghi and ACS Marketing Solutions on summer 2023 from which it also emerges that even those who will go on vacation pay attention to expenses, starting with travel bookings well in advance to save money.
Italians on the other hand, those who do not take holidays between June and September will stay at home mainly for economic reasons (48.2%), family (22.5%), health (16.1%) or because they will go on holiday in another period (9.6%). The high cost of living impacts not only on the choice of whether or not to take the summer holidays, but also on their planning: 15% of travelers booked their trip two months in advance in order to save more, also going against the trend compared to previous years, in which the unpredictable trend of the pandemic had discouraged planning.
How much do you spend
Among vacationers, the majority will extend the duration of their stay, while 17.9% will be able to afford a weekend or a little more. The estimated average per capita expenditure for the summer period is around 972 euros per person, for a total turnover of 33.8 billion. Those who will stay in Italy will spend on average 884 euros, a figure that rises to 1,394 euros for those who have chosen abroad.
Bernabò Mouth, president of Federalberghi, underlined how the data should not be read with too much optimism: “First of all, August has always been the month of great departures, and in this sense nothing new under the sun – he comments – What is striking is the 41% of Italians who will not take a vacation, mainly for economic reasons. But even among those who will leave, a good 45% will try to contain expenses. This is the clear sign of a hardship: those who manage to leave seem to be resigned to having to economize anyway, perhaps by shortening their vacation or trying to spend less on other items such as accommodation, food and entertainment”.
“The data released by Federalberghi confirm that the Ministry’s action is going in the right direction: the choice of an industrial plan for tourism and the proposal of a differentiated and seasonally adjusted offer will allow Italy to grow further in this strategic sector for the nation – so the Minister of Tourism Daniela Santanche comments on the numbers released by Federalberghi and continues – I want to dwell on the chapter of cost increases. As a Government we intervened in time to curb the economic difficulties of Italians by reducing the cost of labour, expensive energy and encouraging economic growth as confirmed by recent data from the IMF. The executive is also intervening on the cost of flights and on the cost of transport which directly affect the choice of tourist destinations. Tourism is a driving force for Italy, it must become the first industry of the nation and this is why we work every day, as a Government and in the Ministry, in support of the sector, as demonstrated by yesterday’s intervention of 10 million in favor of tourism in Sicily, severely injured by the fires and the airport blockade”. (Ticker)