From the Beauty of the Mountains to the Art of Grand Cities and the Great Return of International Tourism
Confindustria Alberghi Shares Insight
Confindustria Alberghi offers a look at the cities and locations that made a mark during the holidays, as part of a look at Italian tourism 2022. As hotels fill up in Italy’s cultural hubs and along its snow-covered mountains, international tourism continues to rise as it did last summer; while a difficult year comes to a close for the hospitality industry hard hit by the economic realities of the year.
For the Love of Mountains and Art
For the upcoming holiday season, the mountains are being taken by storm by a mix of Italian and foreign clientele with more than 80 percent of rooms already booked and the figure growing steadily. According to Confindustria Alberghi – the Italian Hotel Confederation – at Christmas, rooms booked are already close to 80 percent, and New Year’s Eve practically sold out while those for Epiphany are around 70 percent, with a slight decrease compared to 2019 essentially caused by the reduction in Italian clientele compared to the pre-covid figure.
The cities of art also did well, confirming the trend of the recent All Saints’ and Immaculate Conception long weekends with 60% of rooms booked and the confirmation also for the upcoming holidays of very strong interest from foreign clientele, in particular from the United States.
This is an important result that bodes well for an outperformance of Italian tourism 2022 for the holidays compared to the same period in 2019.
Three Grand Cities
Rome compared to Christmas 2019 sees a reservation figure of more than 70% of available rooms, up 5% thanks to 2% more Italians but mainly from the 15% increase represented by the foreign component, USA, India, and Spain the top markets.
The actual exploit is expected on New Year’s Eve with occupancy at 85 percent, up 3 percent compared to the same holiday in 2019. Hotel facilities in the capital will host 8 percent more of our countrymen and 15 percent more foreign guests mainly from the USA, Germany, India, and Spain.
The Epiphany also did well with bookings currently reaching 60 percent of available rooms, up between 5 percent compared to 2019.
Better results compared to 2019 also for Milan with an average figure of 50% of rooms booked and a peak in the New Year period with bookings exceeding 75% of available rooms.
Florence although with better results compared to the city of Milan (+65% the booking figure) remains stable compared to the 2019 holidays.
International Tourism’s Steady Growth
The results from Confindustria Alberghi show that the South also did well. One example among all is Syracuse, which during the upcoming holidays already boasts an average of 30 percent more admissions than in 2019. Neighboring cities and resorts will be mostly visited by foreign travelers of which 70 percent are represented by non-EU nationalities (US and UK).
The data confirm the great desire to return to visit our destinations. Italians, squeezed by an unfavorable economic situation, still indulge in a vacation in Italy, but it is international tourism that makes the difference, confirming steady growth.
Consequently, the tourism market in the last months of 2022 is very good, which thanks to foreigners marks an increase compared to the same pre-crisis period.
Difficulty at the Door for Italian Tourism 2022
The situation is different if we look at the whole year. Despite the excellent performance in the second half of the year, the difficulties faced by the sector until May leave the final balance well below 2019.
Good prospects then, but weighing on business accounts is the general increase in energy and credit costs in particular, with an even more difficult outlook in the coming months.
Added to this is the tourist tax passed in the budget law. A gift we never wanted to find under the tree. Businesses already exhausted by tax burdens, high energy costs, and rising inflation thus feel a new blow. A tax of up to €10 per person per day will weigh on travel costs and risks further discouraging demand. “Who knows why, once again, it has been decided to hit a sector that can make a substantial contribution to the country’s economy,” said Maria Carmela Colaiacovo, president of Confindustria Alberghi.