Super-August bank holiday: turnover worth 3.7 billion in Italy

For the super-bridge from 15 to 18 August, 14.8 million presences are expected in accommodation facilities, of which 56% of Italian tourists. This is estimated by the Tourist Study Centre of Florence for Assoturismo Confesercenti, on the basis of a monitoring carried out on the main online booking platforms. A movement that in the busiest days for the holidays, from 12 to 18 August, will bring in a turnover of 3.7 billion euro, thanks in particular to foreign tourists according to estimates by Cna Tourism and Trade. In the meantime, the red sticker has been raised for the traffic situation from the afternoon of Wednesday, 14 August and in the morning of Thursday, 15 August: there will be a sharp increase in travel from large urban centres throughout Italy to holiday resorts, seaside resorts in the south and mountain resorts in the north and to the state borders.

The most important item for holidaymakers, according to Cna Turismo e Commercio research, is accommodation expenses, which will amount to 1.3 billion, 55% of which will be borne by foreigners and the remaining 45% by Italians. This is followed by transport, which is worth around 600 million, and catering, which stops at 570 million (a figure that only captures the expenditure of tourists, i.e. those who spend the night away from home, and not the entire value of catering, which is much higher). Even for these items, the share of foreign tourists will be higher than that of Italians, with over 400 million for transport, mainly due to the increase in air fares, and 300 million for catering. Gifts, for oneself and others, and tickets for trips, museums, galleries, recreational and sports activities, i.e. spending on shopping and 'for other tourism-related reasons', are set to be worth between EUR 950 million and EUR 1 billion.

Few rooms are still available, especially in the traditional summer holiday destinations: according to the Centro Studi Turistici di Firenze for Assoturismo Confesercenti, 91% of the available offer is already booked, about one point more than in 2023, even though - due to the coincidence of the calendar - last year's long weekend was a day longer.

Despite the overall predominance of Italian tourists, there was a slight drop in domestic demand compared to last year, and mid-August tourism was led by destinations with a strong international vocation, which recovered room occupancy thanks to the foreign market.

For the seaside resorts, the average occupancy rate of the facilities is 95%, up about 2 points; for the lake resorts it also rises to 95%, one point higher than in 2023. The structures in rural/hill areas are substantially stable, as are those in the spa areas, while the volume of bookings recorded by structures in mountain resorts increases by 3 points. For the cities of art, the average occupancy stands at 83%, compared to 82% last year, despite the high temperatures.