Thanks to foreign tourists stable revenues in summer 2024

The 2024 summer holiday barometer is stable. The presence of Italians in beach destinations is expected to drop by 4.4 per cent, but this gap will be filled by foreign guests. Moreover, August is no longer considered the best month for a break because of prices and increases: considering all items such as food, accommodation, beach and the various extras, the increase is 7.9%. So between a cooling of attendance and price increases, the hospitality industry's turnover should be stable, in line with that of 2023. The need to save money has an impact on the periods chosen for holidays: no longer the canonical July and August, but this year there is an increase in the quota of those opting for the more convenient shoulder periods: June and September. This is what emerges from the "Jfc Italian Observatory of seaside destinations", which analyses the evolution of Italians' consumption during the summer, while August risks losing its sceptre as the key month for holidays due to excessively high prices.

This leads to a total turnover of 33.2 billion compared to 33 billion in 2023 but higher (+4.2%) than the value recorded in 2019 when the summer hospitality industry came close to 32 billion in revenues. In detail, Italian families will spend 23.7 billion (-4.2% on 2023) while foreigners another 9.5 billion, with a double-digit growth trend (+14%).

According to the Jfc survey, almost 4 out of 10 Italians are looking for a 'tailor-made' holiday this year, with tours, experiences to be enjoyed as a couple or as a family in the name of participation and aggregation, with get-togethers and parties with friends and family. Almost always the holiday destination is reached by car, the means of transport chosen by almost 72% of Italians and 64.7% of Europeans who prefer freedom of movement. Another 9.5% of Italians will use the train, 8.8% the plane but on short to medium-haul routes to Italy and Europe. The number of Italian holidaymakers who will choose foreign coasts and beaches is on the rise, and the destinations of Greece, Spain and Albania will be the most popular. Chosen because the prices on average are lower than in Italy, but for Gen Z it is also an opportunity to choose and discover the so-called 'surrogate destinations', a holiday idea that is depopulated on social networks. No longer the most famous, celebrated and expensive location, but those that are nearby, less known and more convenient. There is renewed interest in package holidays that have the advantage of offering a certain amount of savings thanks to the discounts offered by booking in advance. A phenomenon that German, Swiss, French and Italian tourists in particular share.

As far as duration is concerned, this year according to the Observatory it will be 10.1 days compared to 10.4 last summer, but for those who opt for holidays in the two central weeks of August, in the high season, the average is reduced to 2.1 nights. According to the different age groups, young people between the ages of 18 and 29 will stay on holiday for 9.3 days, those between 25 and 34 the average rises to 8.8 days, while among the older population aged 35 to 54 the average is 10.7 days. In other words, for one third of Italians their summer holiday will be one week, while 21.4 per cent will be able to indulge in two weeks.

The perception of price increases is worrying because, according to the survey, 40.5% of Italians expect to spend more than last year. They will try to maintain the same level of spending as in 2023 or spend less. Average increases of around 8% are expected, of which +7.4% in the accommodation item, but in the non-hotel item there will be +14% also due to dynamic prices. Sun beds and umbrellas see a +5%, pizzerias and restaurants +6.2% and another 9.3% is in charge of the various entertainment-related items such as excursions and amusement parks. For travel, a +12% is assumed, but everything will depend on the price per litre of petrol and diesel in the coming weeks. Scrolling through the data of the last two years, the price race emerges with double-digit price rises, at 20%, while in the restaurant sector it is almost +25%. Codacons recalls that in view of the summer departures, holiday packages are increasing by as much as 20.5% year-on-year in June, while on the accommodation front, hotels have increased their rates by 5.2%, holiday villages by 5.7%, and accommodation services in other facilities by 7.2%. These are all extremely negative signs that threaten to ruin the summer holidays for Italians, leading an increasing number of families to give up on going away altogether or to cut back on their holidays in order to cope with the price rises.