The beach season is underway. Almost 21 million tourists expected. A 22 billion business

Beaches and rivieras are confirmed as the driving force of the Italian tourist summer : between June and August, 20.7 million arrivals and 110.1 million tourist presences are expected in seaside towns, up by +2% and +1.1% respectively compared to the same period last year. Numbers that represent about half of the total arrivals and overall presences of the summer season, and that confirm the status of 'superpower' of seaside tourism in Italy. All this emerges from a study conducted by Cst - Centro Studi Turistici di Firenze for Assoturismo Confesercenti, shared with the Ministry of Tourism, based on a survey conducted on 1,489 entrepreneurs of the hospitality sector of Italian seaside towns.

Foreigners on the rise

In absolute numbers, arrivals should grow by 415 thousand units, while the increase in overnight stays is close to 1.2 million. Italian demand will remain the majority this year (56.8% of overnight stays, +0.6% on summer 2024), but what is strengthening above all is the attractiveness towards foreigners: in the three months, 47.5 million overnight stays by tourists from abroad are estimated, 840 thousand more (+1.8%) compared to last summer.

Macroareas: Lower Tyrrhenian Sea grows the most

Some differences in market trends emerged from the observation of data for coastal macro-areas. A particularly dynamic trend is expected for the Lower Tyrrhenian and Islands area: the estimated variation is +2.5% and the market share will rise to over 11.5 million overnight stays. For the Upper Adriatic the estimated variation is +1.4% for a total of 23.9 million overnight stays. Based on the reports received, the Upper Tyrrhenian foresees a growth of +1% for a total of 31.4 million overnight stays. For the Lower Adriatic the growth should instead settle at +0.7%, for a total of 43.2 million overnight stays.

Season worth 22 billion

This year's growth confirms the positive medium-term trend of the sector. In the last ten years, in fact, arrivals in seaside resorts have grown by +23.4% and presences by +15.9%, a trend in line with the entire Italian system, where arrivals mark +14% and overnight stays +16.7%. In 2024, it is estimated that the flow of expenditure generated by the Italian seaside demand will have reached almost 22 billion euros.

There is sea and sea: three categories

According to the latest classification carried out by Istat on the characteristics of Italian municipalities, those with an exclusive and/or secondary maritime vocation are 668, including Ravenna Mare and Venezia Lido. In Italy, however, there is not just one "sea product", but at least three can be identified: the sea of ​​the rivieras, made up of coastal urban centers that do not only live in the summer and offer leisure and entertainment and a high level of services, attracting families in particular; the sea of ​​the villages, which have a diversified clientele - even if families are always among the main targets - and which are more widespread in the South; and finally the sea of ​​the smaller islands, which places more emphasis on nature and still has limited accommodation.

Where Italians and foreigners go

In Italy, there are at least 50 rivieras, but there are about 20 with a strong tourist vocation. Every region with an outlet to the sea has at least one or two established ones. The ones that are significant in terms of number of visitors, one for each regional territory, total 64.6% of the total number of visitors for all seaside tourism. Overall, the two areas with the largest market share are the Venetian Riviera and the Emilia-Romagna Riviera. The coastal resorts of Emilia-Romagna are those that intercept the largest share of demand: 15.2% of seaside tourism arrivals in Italy and 15.8% of visitors. Veneto comes in second with 12.8% of arrivals and 15.9% of visitors, followed by Tuscany, Liguria and Campania. The riviera with the highest (relative) incidence of foreigners is the Sorrento Coast, where foreign demand is worth 86.4% of the total. The other destinations most preferred by foreigners for summer holidays are the Venetian Riviera (70.2%), the Eastern Coast of Sicily (67.2%) and the Friuli-Venezia Giulia Riviera (66.8%).

Instead, the main areas with the prevalence of the Italian market are the coast of Basilicata, the Conero Riviera, the Abruzzo and Molise coast, the Romagna Riviera and Salento. Considering the weight of seaside tourism on the total territorial market, the region with the highest percentage incidence is certainly Sardinia: 93.3% of regional flows. Another region with a supply system particularly dependent on the seaside tourism market is Calabria with 91.2% of the market, followed by Liguria with 83.7%. Germany with 30% of the presences on the total of foreigners has always been the leading market. Other European markets such as Austria, Switzerland, France, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands follow with smaller shares. The presence of US visitors is significant especially on the Sorrento coast.

Messina: “Working for deseasonalization”

"Seaside tourism has confirmed its role as a driving sector again this year. Rivieras and beaches represent a heritage of great value for local economies, supporting employment and growth not only in coastal regions but throughout the country, with a particularly significant impact in the South. There are still challenges to overcome, first of all the strong seasonality. The data tell us that 77% of overnight stays are concentrated in the four-month period June-September alone. This alternation of periods of high and low demand generates, on the one hand, situations of saturation and unavailability of services in the peak months, and on the other, an underuse of the facilities in the low season months, with obvious repercussions on the profitability of companies. We need to work on an offer that is attractive for increasingly longer periods of the year, investing in quality, in the diversification of services and in a better organization of hospitality", comments Vittorio Messina, president of Assoturismo Confesercenti.

Santanchè: “Investing and promoting sustainability”

"Beach tourism is a fundamental pillar of our economic system," added Minister of Tourism Daniela Santanchè, "and the continued growth of this sector is evidence of Italy's resilience and attractiveness as a tourist destination. It is essential to continue investing in infrastructure and services to ensure that our coasts and seaside villages remain competitive at an international level, promoting sustainable and quality tourism for future generations."