Nine million Italians ready for a mountain holiday
Couples or families are mainly short stays with an average per capita expenditure of around 475 euro
January's heavy snowfall in the Alps has boosted Italians' desire for skiing and a break in the mountains, adding to the Olympic effect of Milan Cortina. Between January and March, almost 9 million will treat themselves to a skiing holiday. This is a side effect of the increase in traveller confidence, which in January reached its highest peak since the beginning of the surveys.
In most cases these are short stays, 1-2 nights (50%) or 3-5 nights (44%), with an average per capita expenditure of around EUR 475. Among those planning to leave, as many as 81% have already defined both the period and the destination and company of their stay. More and more attention is being paid to planning ahead. Italia remains the main choice: 4 out of 5 holidaymakers opt for national mountain resorts, mainly in Trentino-Alto Adige (40%), followed by Valle d'Aosta and Piedmont. This was revealed by the Confturismo-Confcommercio Observatory in collaboration with Swg conducted for the first quarter of 2026.
"The Milan-Cortina Olympics are a great visibility opportunity for the integrated system of the Italian Alpine regions," comments Manfred Pinzger, of Confturismo - Confcommercio. "It is an effect that we are already beginning to see in the renewed centrality of skiing and the growth in the average length of overnight stays. The ability of Italian destinations to combine sport, wellness, and territory is the key to winning the challenge of sustainability and deseasonalisation".
Compared to previous years, there is an increased interest in foreign destinations in the Alps, especially Austria, Switzerland and France (+5%). The ski holiday is confirmed as a shared experience. People mainly travel as a couple (61%) or as a family (23%) and stay mainly in hotels (56%), although there is a growing use of friends' and relatives' houses or second homes. The desire to practice winter sports is on the rise compared to the past (38%), with skiing making a comeback also due to the "drag" effect of the Milan-Cortina Olympics, which rekindled interest in a more traditional winter holiday. In any case, rest and relaxation (44%), naturalistic excursions (36%) and wine and food tasting (25%) remain among the preferred activities, testifying to a holiday that is increasingly multi-purpose and attentive to wellbeing.
