As the school year draws to a close, the June holidays begin

When the school bell rings to mark the end of the academic year, 22.3% of Italians treat themselves to a holiday in June, a month that offers a wide range of options and greater scope for keeping an eye on costs. According to a survey carried out by Tecnè for Federalberghi, 16 million Italians will be ready to set off as the 2025/2026 school year draws to a close. Of these, 4.9 million will be children.

The majority of travellers (73.9%) will set off in their own cars; departures will peak in the middle of the month and will be mainly within Italia (90.7%). For those staying in Italy, seaside resorts will be the most popular choice, followed by the mountains, art destinations and lakeside resorts. For those opting to travel abroad (9.3%), major European capitals will remain at the top of the list of preferred destinations.

The turnover generated by this first taste of the summer holiday season is estimated at around €7.5 billion. The average holiday will last 6 days and the average per-person spend (including transport, accommodation, food and entertainment) will be €468. The bulk of travellers’ spending will go on meals (29.5%) and travel (23.5%). Accommodation accounts for 18.6% of the budget, whilst 12.7% will be spent on shopping. “There is no doubt,” explains Federalberghi president Bernabò Bocca, “that we are seeing a tourism trend with a strong family focus. The determination with which families and travellers in general have planned their holidays is also evident from the fact that, according to our study, bookings were made at least a month in advance. This is a sign that today’s travellers do not want surprises, plan well in advance, tend to prefer easily accessible destinations and consider it essential to avoid the unexpected. A trend which, in my view, reveals a strong desire to make the most of their holiday.”

“Once again, Italia comes out on top,” adds Bocca, “garnering the lion’s share of respondents’ preferences. It’s no surprise that the seaside remains at the top of the list of the most popular destinations; we’re on the cusp of the summer season and the ‘taste of the sea’ remains a well-known attraction. However, the mountains are holding their own too; it is also good to see that our lakes are achieving excellent results, winning over an ever-increasing number of admirers.” Federalberghi also reveals growth compared to 2025. “I believe this figure,” says Bocca, “should be seen as an opportunity for our sector to make the most of the month of June, treating it as an integral part of a full tourist season, not merely as a prelude to summer. Looking ahead, the end-of-school holidays could become a stable driver of growth. The challenge ahead will be to ensure that destinations are able to offer integrated, sustainable and fully accessible experiences.”

There is also good news from the Ministry of Tourism for 2026: in May, according to analysis by the Ministry of Tourism’s Statistics Office, Italia ranked above Greece, France and Spain in terms of online travel agency (OTA) saturation, whilst in March it ranked first for year-on-year growth in visitor numbers and second for average length of stay compared to its main European competitors. In particular, according to data from The Data Appeal Company, in May, Italy reached a figure of 55.1% (+8.2% on May 2025) for OTA penetration, outperforming Greece (50.3%), France (44.3%) and Spain (42.5%).