Families to the test of expensive sunshades

Staying under the beach umbrella in search of relaxation, fun for the kids and a tan this summer costs an average of 4% more, despite the Bolkestein directive controversy, the drop in consumption affecting Italian families, and not forgetting the bad weather. On a public holiday in the low season, the average cost for Mr. Rossi's typical family, two adults and one under 12, or for a couple in summer 2024 is almost 25 euros, 24.55 euros to be precise, while the cost for the weekly formula is 160 euros, an increase of 1.73% over 2023.

This is what is revealed by the seventh survey on the cost of bathing establishments carried out by the I.R.C.A.F. Study Centre for the period of the week from 9 to 15 June for renting 1 beach umbrella and 2 sunbeds in the 3rd row during the low season, both for a public holiday and a weekday. The request was made to a sample of 65 bathing establishments between 21 and 23 May. According to the I.R.C.A.F. Study Centre, the price increases cannot be attributed to inflation alone, in the period from June 2023 to April 2024, according to ISTAT it was half a percentage point, while only the weekly formula shows a smaller percentage increase compared to the daily holiday, which can be partly explained by the fact that the number of managers of establishments offering weekly packages with a reduction in the rate, usually a 10% discount, has increased.

Excluding the premium bathing establishments, the price of the daily service varies from a minimum of 10 euro in Tortolì in Sardinia to a maximum of 45 euro in Sabaudia, 42 in Lerici in Liguria, while on the Amalfi coast it averages 40 euro. In the hundreds of establishments on the Romagna coast you spend around 25 euro, while together with Tortolì the cheapest beaches are those of

Vieste, Sciacca and Policoro where the cost is 12 euro. In particular at regional level, establishments on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas tend to be cheaper than those on the Tyrrhenian and Ligurian Seas. In fact, on the former the average expense is € 21 for the daily (+ 5.22 % compared to 2023) and € 129.31 for the weekly (+ 0.79 % compared to 2023), along the Ligurian and Tyrrhenian coasts the expense is around € 27.24 for the daily (+1.52 %) and € 183.48 for the weekly (+ 0.22 %). On public holidays, the difference on the two sides of the boot is accentuated. In fact, establishments on the Tyrrhenian and Ligurian seas offer on average a public holiday daily that costs 29.34% more and the weekly at +41.89% compared to those on the Adriatic and Ionian shores. Not only are the price differences significant between the two coasts, but it should also be noted that the percentage increase in costs compared to last year was not uniform. The bathing establishments on the Adriatic-Ionian coast also show more than three times the annual percentage price increase compared to the price increase on the Tyrrhenian-Ligurian coasts.