An Easter of recovery for tourism. After the slowdown recorded in the first quarter of the year, and in particular after the start of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, for the upcoming Easter holidays – the first with almost no restrictions in two years now – the sector is registering positive signs : between Holy Thursday and Easter Monday, the accommodation system should in fact record 4.7 million overnight stays. Essentially Italians will travel (74% of presences), but a good recovery of foreign demand, mainly European, is expected, with over 1.2 million overnight stays estimated, 26% of the total. This is what emerges from an Assoturismo survey conducted by the Centro Studi Turistici of Florence on a sample of 1,304 accommodation facilities, which recorded a significant volume of bookings for the holidays.
Pre-pandemic numbers still far away
In any case, the numbers of Easter 2019 are still far away, with 6.1 million overnight stays: compared to then, especially foreign visitors (-1.6 million), but it should be emphasized that in 2019 the proximity between Easter (which fell on April 21st) and April 25th had led to a significant increase in travelers. For this year, however, the expectations of companies on the average occupancy of their availability amounted to 62.4% of the rooms, with percentages that for some destinations had not been recorded for some time.
Greater influx in the cities of art
In general, there should be a good dynamism of demand throughout the national territory, but the best results are expected for the regions of Central Italy (67.8%) and the North West (62%), while the South continues to suffer ( 52.4%), in which almost one room out of two remains empty. The greatest flow of visitors is expected in the cities of art, with an occupancy rate of 75.8%, but interesting values would also be found for the lakes (69.7%) and the thermal baths (67.4%). Mountain resorts (48%) are below the national average.
Foreign demand driven by Germans, Swiss and Austrians
As for foreigners, the presences will be concentrated above all in the lakeside resorts, where foreign travelers will be responsible for 52.8% of the overnight stays, while they will touch the minimum in the seaside resorts (15%). The requests for reservations come mainly from German, Swiss and Austrian tourists in the lakes and countryside / hills, French and British tourists especially in the cities of art, but also towards the mountain resorts. There are also some Americans, practically the only relevant extra-European market indicated by entrepreneurs, who will be concentrated above all in the cities of art. On the other hand, tourism from Eastern Europe, Russia and Eastern Asia (China, Korea and Japan) practically did not arrive.
Tourism still driven by domestic demand
«If it is true that in the last two weeks bookings have returned to growth, mainly Italian travelers will support tourism during the holidays, while foreigners will be less than half of what they were before the covid. The concern is to find ourselves again in a situation in which tourism is fueled only by domestic demand: it would be too little to support companies which, after two years of stop & go, need support to maintain employment levels “comments Vittorio Messina, President of Assoturismo Confesercenti.