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TOURISM

Italy’s economy suffers as tourist gems become ‘dead cities’

Just over a year into the Covid-19 pandemic, Venice remains a ghost town. Portofino, a colourful playground for the jet-set on the Ligurian coast, and Varenna on the shores of Lake Como are also deserted. The coronavirus has taken a heavy toll on tourism in Italy.

Italy's economy suffers as tourist gems become 'dead cities'
A key sector for Italy is collapsing due to the pandemic. Photo: Marco Bertorello/AFP

Italy is the world’s fifth-most visited destination – and with a third wave now under way, there is no obvious end in sight to the tourism crisis the country faces.

The collapse in the number of tourists to Italy was jaw-dropping last year, with only 25.5 million foreign visitors spending at least one night in the peninsula, versus 65 million in 2019 – a drop of more than 60 percent.

That corresponded to revenue of only 17.45 billion euros, 26.85 billion euros less than the prior year, according to new figures from the Bank of Italy.

“The situation is really dramatic and everything must be done to revive a sector so vital for our country,” said the president of the Italian Union of Chambers of Commerce, Carlo Sangalli.

Nearly 100,000 companies in Italy’s tourism sector are at risk of bankruptcy, according to the research institute Demoskopika, with a potential loss of 440,000 jobs.

‘Even George Clooney doesn’t come anymore’

“The year 2020 was catastrophic for us,” said Marina Denti, owner of a leather store in Varenna, a picturesque fishing village on Lake Como.

She is still sorely lacking in foreign customers, especially big-spending Americans, an absence that saw her turnover drop by 80 percent last year.

“Even George Clooney doesn’t come anymore with this pandemic,” she said, referring to the area’s most famous homeowner, proprietor of an opulent villa on the other side of the lake, in Laglio.

Varenna, on Lake Como in Lombardy. Photo: Brigitte HAGEMANN / AFP

Before coronavirus swept across the country and beyond, tourism accounted for nearly 14 percent of gross domestic product for Italy, the eurozone’s third-largest economy.

The collapse of this key economic driver, with hotels and restaurants closed for months on end, helped plunge the country last year into the worst recession since World War II.

‘Venice has become a dead city’

“Deprived of tourists, Venice has become a dead city like Pompeii, it’s sad when you walk down the street,” said Anna Bigai, one of the city’s tour guides, who has only done a dozen guided tours over the past year.

Throughout Italy, overnight stays of foreign tourists fell by 54 percent to 184.1 million in 2020 and the outlook for 2021 remains bleak.

“International tourism in Italy should not return to pre-pandemic levels before 2023,” warned the director of the national tourism agency, Giorgio Palmucci.

READ ALSO: ‘New model’: How Florence and Venice plan to rebuild tourism after the coronavirus crisis

Even Portofino, a popular destination for celebrities and billionaires from all over the world, has not been spared. Its Rolex and Christian Dior stores remain desperately empty, waiting for the return of rich foreign customers.

“In 2020, we had the worst year in a decade,” sighed Emanuela Cattaneo, owner of a wine bar on the port, lamenting the absence of American and English customers.

The coast near Portofino in busier years. Photo: Olivier MORIN / AFP

Still, a few rare foreign tourists have enjoyed the unusual calm. Rainer Lippert from Heidelberg, Germany, came to Milan, where he and his family were admiring the view from the roof of the city’s Gothic Duomo.

“It’s fantastic to be here when there are not so many people around,” he said. “Given the circumstances it’s the best choice we could make.”

Within days of Lippert’s visit, the Duomo was once again closed for coronavirus restrictions.

READ ALSO: How soon can Italy hope to restart tourism this summer?

To try to get things moving again, Italian train companies will offer “Covid-free” high-speed rail links between Rome and Milan beginning in early April, a first in Europe. All staff and passengers will be tested before boarding.

The airline Alitalia launched a similar initiative last year on some domestic and international flights.

Despite current international restrictions on travel – and the fact that most of Italy is currently in some form of lockdown – Ryanair announced on Wednesday that the airline is expanding its summer flight schedule between the UK and Italy.

The Italian tourism minister has expressed that the country is keen to restart tourism as soon as infection rates fall and vaccination campaigns pick up pace. Since plans for a health passport are still in early stages, it remains too early to say yet when Italy’s tourism could re-start.

Find all The Local’s updates on travel to Italy here

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TOURISM

Flights, hotels, beaches: How the cost of travel to Italy is rising this summer

Inflation may now be falling but the price of a summer holiday in Italy has risen again - by up to 20 percent compared to last year.

Flights, hotels, beaches: How the cost of travel to Italy is rising this summer

Italian consumer rights groups said last year that the summer of 2023 would be remembered as “the most expensive ever” for travel. But 2024 has already smashed that record, according to the latest price surveys.

The rising cost of air fares, ferry tickets, hotels, restaurants and beach clubs add up to mean a holiday in Italy will be 15-20 percent more expensive this summer compared to last year, according to a survey conducted by the Assoutenti consumer research centre in June.

While price rises in recent years have been attributed to Covid and rising inflation, which is no longer thought to be a factor, this year Assoutenti said high demand was pushing up prices amid the post-pandemic tourism boom.

Prices in Italy were “out of control as a consequence of the resumption of tourism, after the stop imposed by Covid, and the record number of foreign visitors recorded in the last year,” the survey’s authors wrote, calling on the government to take measures to contain price increases.

READ ALSO: ltaly set for summer tourism boom as bookings increase again

They warned that more Italian families were likely to “give up the summer holidays this year, not being able to face an expense that increases from year to year,” and that those who do travel may book shorter trips to keep costs down.

Some 6.5 million Italians say they won’t be going on holiday this summer at all, with half citing economic difficulties, according to a separate survey commissioned by price comparison website Facile.it.

Meanwhile, there had been a nine percent increase this year in applications for personal loans for travel purposes, the survey found.

Flight prices

One of the biggest factors was the cost of air fares, as both domestic and international flights to and from Italy were found to be more expensive again this year.

While the cost of flights between European countries had fallen slightly following inflation-driven price hikes in 2023, Italy was bucking the trend.

Italy’s flight costs had risen instead, according to recent analysis in Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera, with the average price of a summer flight between Italy and the rest of Europe up by seven percent and domestic flights by 21 percent.

READ ALSO: Why are flight prices higher in Italy than the rest of Europe this summer?

Industry sources suggest the price increase is again down to unprecedented demand, while consumer groups say the main culprit is a lack of competition on the Italian market.

Transport costs

There were price hikes too for those using other modes of transport, with the rising cost of fuel and motorway tolls in Italy named as another contributing factor in the Assoutenti survey.

Ferry tickets were also more expensive, it found, with the average increase this August at +6.3 percent compared to 2023.

Hotels and B&Bs

For a family of four, the Assoutenti survey found the most expensive place to stay in Italy this summer was Porto Cervo, Sardinia, where the average price of a week’s three-star accommodation in August came to 3,500 euros.

The cheapest options were found to be Bibione, outside Venice (872 euros) and Rapallo in Liguria (909).

READ ALSO: Tourist tax: How much is it increasing in Italy’s cities this year?

The cost of accommodation at coastal destinations had risen by 23 percent on average overall, a separate survey by consumer group Altroconsumo found.

Hotels in cities were found to be a less expensive option, with most Italian families heading for the beach or mountains to escape the heat.

Restaurants

Adding to the overall cost, prices also continued to rise this year at restaurants in holiday resorts and at beach clubs: Assoutenti recorded an average increase for the catering sector of +3.5 percent on 2023.

Beaches

Renting sunbeds and umbrellas at Italy’s beach clubs is seen as a necessity by many Italian families – and often by international visitors too, given the lack of free options in many areas.

This too was becoming more expensive in 2024, with the average daily rate for a slot at one of Italy’s private beach clubs up by more than five percent on last year. Prices had also risen by as much as 11 percent between 2022 and 2023.

Beachgoers can now expect to pay around €30-35 for two sun loungers and a beach umbrella for the day on average, though prices can rise as high as €90 in Salento and €120 in parts of Sardinia.

Both private and free-access beaches in Italy also increasingly require advance booking due to higher demand.

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