Summer holidays for 36 million Italians: a public holiday weekend

75.1 per cent of holidaymakers will not travel abroad; 75.1 per cent will opt for the seaside, 13.7 per cent for the mountains, 4.8 per cent for cities of cultural interest and 3.4 per cent for lakeside resorts.

More than a quarter of holidaymakers (28.9%) will take more than one holiday in addition to their main one: of these 41.0% will treat themselves to at least one further holiday; 35.2 per cent will take two, and 15.1 per cent will take three holiday breaks between June and September, confirming the long-standing trend of splitting summer holidays into several segments.

The main holiday lasts 9.8 days on average, whilst any additional holidays taken on top of the main one will be significantly shorter: 4.2 days.

The holiday will cost a total of 917 euros per person (including travel, food, accommodation and entertainment) – approximately 94 euros a day.

Future holidays will be more affordable: a total of 527 euros (around 127 euros a day). Holiday spending is spread across all parts of the tourism sector.

28.7% of the budget is allocated to meals (breakfasts, lunches and dinners), 23.4% on accommodation, 21.8% on travel costs, 11.3% on shopping and 14.8% on all other expenses (entertainment, excursions and day trips).

Among the types of accommodation chosen by Italians for their holidays, the preference is for hotels and holiday villages (30.6 per cent).

This is closely followed by staying with relatives and friends (28.6 per cent), then one’s own home (11.9 per cent), B&Bs (7.8 per cent), campsites (6.8 per cent), short-term rentals (5.1 per cent), holiday apartments (4.7 per cent) and farm stays (2.6 per cent). “Holidays,” says Federalberghi president Bernabò Bocca, “are spread out in a more structured way across all four summer months, which helps to enhance the ability to boost local areas, with all that they have to offer in terms of businesses and supply chains. It is also interesting to note that a significant proportion of travellers will take more than one holiday period in addition to their main one, confirming once again the new trend of breaking up and spreading holidays throughout the summer.”

“We are committed to ensuring smooth and unhindered traffic flow for all road users despite the heavy traffic volumes,” assures Anas’s Chief Executive, Claudio Andrea Gemme, “As set out in our holiday traffic management plan, 2,500 technical and operational staff are on duty, in addition to staff at the Regional Operations Centres and the National Situation Centre, to ensure real-time traffic monitoring 24 hours a day.”

Together with the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport and the police, we have always been at the forefront of ensuring road safety for the public across the network. Through our work, we aim to ensure that those setting off on their holidays can do so with peace of mind. “We urge everyone, without exception, to always drive responsibly, as we emphasise in our communication campaign and in our advert: ‘When you’re driving, everything else can wait’,” concludes Gemme.