They will be about two million Italians on the move for the Christmas holidays, despite theabsence of a bridge for the Immaculate Conception, which this year falls on a Sunday. December 8th remains a symbolic date, inaugurating the winter holiday season, while the Christmas will offer more opportunities of public holidays.
According to the investigation of the Tourism Studies Center of Florence for Assoviaggi Confesercenti, based on a sample of 648 travel agencies, the bookings are down 4% compared to 2023. The global recovery in tourism has pushed up prices, impacting the domestic market more, where travellers have less spending power.
The organised tourism sector, however, forecasts 5% growth in turnover for 2024, driven by the positive results recorded in the first months of the year.
Travel habits are changing
The increase in costs has led to a transformation in travel habits. More and more Italians are choosing to avoid high season periods, moving their vacations away from the traditional holiday peaks. Travel agencies report a 3,4% drop in bookings for trips abroad and 5,2% for Italian destinations during the Christmas period.
A lgeographical level, the decline is more marked in the North-West of the country, while better performances are observed in the North-East and in the Centre.
New Destination Preferences: Sea, Culture and Adventure
Le types of travel more requests reflect a change of priority: bookings are increasing for tailor-made trips, groups accompanied by experts and the hot destinations of the Mediterranean, adventure trips and cruises.
What is worrying, however, is the decline of some traditional destinations: requests for European capitals, Italian art cities and spa or wellness packages are decreasing.
The most popular destinations
Who will remain? in Italy he prefers or Trentino Alto Adige, Followed by Toscana, Campania, Lazio, Sicilia e Veneto. For those who will opt for theabroad, between short-range destinations Spain, France, Morocco, the United Kingdom and Austria stand out, while for the medium range preferences are concentrated on Egypt, Finland, Norway, Iceland and Sweden, albeit decreasing compared to 2023.
Le Long-haul destinations are on the rise, with travellers choosing the Caribbean, the United States, Thailand, Japan and Vietnam. The increase also requested for exotic destinations such as Madagascar, Argentina, Seychelles, South Africa, Australia, in addition to the classic Maldives, Kenya, Zanzibar, Tanzania, Mexico and Mauritius.
