The summer season starts with a mini-esodo: for the long weekend of June 2, 80% of the accommodations available online are booked, with peaks of 90% on Saturday for the most attractive destinations. The arrivals from abroad push reservations in the cities of art and in the locations of the lakes. A good omen for the trend of summer, whose forecasts are favorable: between June and August the official accommodation facilities await about 211.2 million tourist presences, with a growth of +1% compared to summer 2024 Distributed between hotel and extralberghiero.
City of art and seaside resorts among the favorite destinations of June 2nd
For the Republic Day, the anniversary of Monday and the weather forecast with summer temperatures encouraged travel programming. On the long weekend of the early summer, a substantial movement of Italian and foreign tourists is expected, which will be more than anything else to cities and art centers, the locations of the lakes, marinas and rural and hill areas. In fact, on the basis of the results of the investigation of the Confesercenti Assotorismo Tourist Study Center, on the online booking portals the saturation of the accommodation facilities of the cities of art is 88% of availability, 8% higher than the national average. Trend also favorable for the locations of the lakes where the average occupation stands at 86%. Very positive values have been detected for the structures of the rural/hilly (79%) and marine (79%) places. A slightly lower employment rate would instead be for the structures of the mountains (70%) and thermal (72%). It is not the boom of a few years ago, but Italian tourism, despite the difficulties related to the macroeconomic framework and the competition of low cost destinations, confirms its growth path also in the summer of 2025. The demand is oriented above all towards Marine and Mountain destinations, both growing +1.1%.
The cities of art follow at +1%, while lakes and rural/hilly tourism grow more slowly ( +0.7%and +0.6%), even if they begin to benefit from greater diversification of the offer and a progressive decline. The areas with the most positive dynamics are South and Islands (+1.4%) and North West (+1.3%). The North East stands at +1%, while the center remains stable ( +0.2%), penalized by a slight drop in Italian demand. The requests of foreigners, however, grow everywhere, with peaks in the South (+3.1%). An increase in reservations in the destinations of religious tourism is also directed: a signal to be grasped, after the disappointing start of the Jubilee 2025, which with the next appointments (and the new pontiff) could further amplify this segment.
There will be more presences of foreigners than the Italians
However, the contribution of foreign markets is increasingly decisive to support the growth of the sector. This is confirmed by the composition of the application: this year, foreign presences will exceed Italian ones, a novelty for the summer season, usually dominated by internal demand. According to CST estimates for Assotorismo, in fact, international guests should generate about 107.6 million presences (+1.5%), against 103.6 million of Italians (+0.5%). The foreign share thus reaches 51% of the total, confirming the progressive shift of the tourism axis towards international markets. The accommodation companies report an increase in reservations especially by European tourists, in particular from Germany, France, Switzerland, Belgium, the Netherlands, Austria, Poland and Spain. In slight decline, however, the flows from Australia and China, due to the economic and geopolitical context. In slowing down, after a long period of growth, the US demand. From the point of view of the offer, this summer will be the hotel sector to show the best performances: +1.4% of presences in the summer quarter, thanks to a growth of +2.2% of foreign customers and +0.7% of the Italian one.
A leap forward that allows him to recover the lost ground compared to extralberghiero, for which between June and August a more contained dynamic is expected, with a total +0.4% ( +0.6% foreigners, +0.1% Italian), but which dominated the first five months of the year. “The data confirm the resilience of Italian tourism, capable of growing again despite a complex and competitive context. The overtaking of foreign presences is an important signal, which testifies to the international attractiveness of our country, but also the need to strengthen Italy’s positioning in the global market. The competition of the low-cost destinations in the Mediterranean, in particular for seaside tourism, is strong and is very strong. Being a decline on prices, but a continuous investment in the quality of the offer: not only that of the accommodation facilities, but of the entire system of reception, services, infrastructures, promotion and care of the territory. In a lasting way one of the most vital sectors of our economy “, declares Vittorio Messina, president of Assotorismo Confesercenti.