Between Christmas and Epiphany, 17 million Italians travelled

The number of Italians who will take advantage of the upcoming holidays to treat themselves to a more or less short break is on the rise. This will be 17 million people against the 16 million estimated by Confcommercio in November. More than 60% will stay in Italy and, compared to the past, the model of a shorter holiday is affirmed, breaking up the two weeks at the turn of the year into a few days here and others there. A quarter of holidaymakers have already outlined what they will do: a detour abroad, while after a Christmas at home, 12% will go abroad. That is double the figure for 2022 when many flights were not operational. Of the third of Italians who will not be able to leave, 20% attribute it to economic reasons and the remainder to the lack of holiday days. This is what the focus on Christmas, New Year's Eve and Epiphany 2025 of Italians by the Confcommercio Tourism Observatory in collaboration with SWG reveals.

"Tourism is confirmed as the engine of development to create wealth and new jobs," commented Carlo Sangalli, president of Confcommercio. Forecasts are also encouraging for 2025, but there is still concern for other major sectors, such as automotive and clothing, which could penalise economic growth".

Over this festive period the 17 million travellers will spend a total of more than 8 billion euros, with peaks at New Year's Eve where an average expenditure per person is estimated at 390 euros with almost 9 million travellers. 44% of those who will set off between today and tomorrow will do so to reach relatives and friends.

Among the preferred destinations are large cities or cities of art (23%), seaside resorts (22%), or mountain resorts (17%). At the heart of the choice of destinations are the need to rest and the desire to taste typical products, confirming the close connection between tourism and the food and wine offerings of the territories. For abroad, the top-ten destinations see Spain in the lead, followed by France and Great Britain. At New Year's Eve, the queen of holidays, 27% will choose a big city or a city of art, while 23% of departing Italians will opt for the mountains. More than 1 in 4 Italians will choose a hotel for their New Year's holiday. Among those who choose a holiday with at least 5 overnight stays, a quarter will go abroad, with France 17%, Spain 13% and Greece 12% among the preferred destinations. Even for the Epiphany holiday, short stays will prevail (52% of those who leave do not plan to stay more than 2 nights). Among the destinations, one in four travellers choose large cities or cities of art and one in five the mountains. The percentage of those who choose a foreign destination for holidays of at least 5 days is growing strongly (29% compared to 15% in 2022).