Immerse yourself in nature, rest, see new places but no or little shopping: according to the Confcommercio-Confturismo observatory in collaboration with SWG, summer 2020 for Italians is enclosed within these precise limits. The desire for a holiday is on the rise and the share of Italians who plan to pack their bags between June and August rises from 19% to 48% compared to April (70% in the same period, last year), but the situation remains problematic in comparison with 2019. The trips - predicts Confcommercio based on the results of the survey - will be short, indeed very short, maximum three days. And one out of five Italians thinks he won't go on holiday this year.
Looking at preferences in destinations, the sea remains the preferred destination for 49% of those interviewed (61% last year) but the mountains gain share with 21% of preferences compared to 18% last year. Nature, open and safer spaces: this seems to be the rationale behind these choices which penalize the cities of art, which stopped at 17% in April, while "only 15% of the interviewees intend to visit museums, monuments and exhibitions on holiday, against 37% of last year: in short, it will certainly not be the summer of cultural tourism”.
The consequence, is the conclusion of Confcommercio-Confturismo is that a negative impact is looming on related industries. Only 5% of those interviewed (20% in May 2019) plan to include shopping in their holiday spending plans, with inevitable consequences on the expectations of local service and commercial activities which rely on the summer season to supplement their shopping business.
The type of holiday that emerges from the survey is confirmed to be based on the general sobriety of the post-Covid 19 period. 35% declare that if they go on holiday it will be for short trips, with a maximum of 2 or 3 nights, staying close to home. To think so, in May 2019, they were only 14%, less than half.
"Ignoring such a dramatic picture and not reacting immediately by adopting measures focused on tourism would be madness", declares the president of Confturismo-Confcommercio, Luca Patané which asks the government for more interventions to support tourism and an ad hoc decree for the sector.
