+30% bookings compared to a year ago [notiziediprato.it]

Approximately 30% more tourists in view of next summer: this is the data that concerns the Montalbano area of ​​Prato and which emerges from the latest study by Confcommercio Pistoia and Prato on reservations, with a sample of associated structures. A notable increase compared to the same period of the previous year, thanks to the overbooking in Florence and beyond, as witnessed by those directly involved.

“The skyrocketing prices of the Florentine structures – comments Alessandro Guerrieri, of the Hotel Villa San Michele, in Carmignano – are significantly increasing the flows of tourists who come here for non-working reasons. For the summer we are receiving bookings with a much higher frequency than a year ago: they are in the order of + 30-40%. These are Italians, who essentially come from all over the country, but foreigners also represent a very significant percentage. In our case they are predominantly German and Brazilian. It seems to us the fruit – his analysis – of the perfect combination between the absence of previous restrictions, Florentine overbooking and the season of events already exploded as in the best past. A note? The area should be served by more public transport, tourists often ask if they are available”.

The feedback for Annabella Pascale of Tenuta Artimino was also excellent: “Starting from the beginning of the year – she reveals – we are appreciating a 20% increase compared to 2022. If we take into consideration the bookings starting from June, the gap reaches + 26%. Furthermore, while a year ago we recorded a higher contribution from the Italian domestic market, now the large increase in US tourists places them as our main feeder market. Not only are they more: their average stay has also become longer. This changes the traditional dynamics of our work, because we were used to the Italian and UK segments as the main references. It is clear that the saturation of the Florentine market, a favorite destination for US tourists, is making a difference. We also see it in the restaurants that collaborate with us, Biagio Pingatta and the Cantina del Redi: more customers arriving, especially from the USA”.

That this trend has a positive effect on the restaurant segment is also confirmed by Carlo Cioni, of the “Da Delfina” restaurant in Artimino: “I must say that demand is growing rapidly and that many Americans are already returning and making reservations, both for work than for leisure. After all, they love our land very much: USA Today dedicated a special article to our terrace years ago. Florentine overbooking certainly contributes, but it is also true that there is a return to the desire to spend holiday periods in greener environments rather than in the city centre. These new flows, alongside the neighborhood that we have always cared for, today make our market solid”.

“The phenomenon of overbooking – comments Tiziano Tempestini, director of Confcommercio Pistoia and Prato – in its mix with a series of other factors, such as the rediscovery of slow tourism and the opening of the season of events, reshapes the canons of traditional hospitality in the Montalbano from Prato. A territory usually more inclined to intercept a business target, now finds itself managing considerable leisure flows. With a perimeter of the tourist offer that is being redesigned today, new managerial management models are needed, which recalibrate the dimension of the places as a destination that is no longer just a commercial one”.