What the 1 May bridge will be like

It falls on a Friday, and according to the calendar, the 1 May weekend is looking good, thanks to the good weather that will hopefully bring spring. At the moment, the trend is towards bookings due to the international economic situation. fuel and price increases. The tendency thus becomes to book under dates if not last minute. "For the bridge we foresee 7.2 million Italians on holiday, but the trend is to make late bookings, linked to the choice of waiting for developments in the international context," explains Carlo Squeri, head of tourism at Confcommercio. "One third of travellers plan to stay with three or more overnight stays and one fifth will go to a foreign destination.

Quite different is the missed appointment with the 25 April bridge, which this year will be on a Saturday. In other words, a missed bridge. "There is expected to be a sharp drop in travel compared to last year, of 25-30% with 6.3 million travellers on the move, one in five of whom plan to spend a weekend abroad," continues Squeri. Looking further ahead to the 2 June long weekend, Republic Day, the head of Confcommercio predicts that "6.7 million Italian travellers will visit cities of art but also seaside resorts. In particular, from April to June, Lazio, Emilia Romagna and Campania will be the most popular regions'.

As far as the summer season is concerned, Squeri does not venture any predictions. "It's early but this is the time when long-distance trips abroad are booked and we are seeing a strong contraction in this sector, the traveller let's say he is standing at the window. For holidays in Italia there should not be big differences compared to last year but if there will be an increase it is too early to say because someone from abroad might decide to delay their holiday in another place,' Squeri concludes.