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Calabria continues to grow on a tourism level. According to data released by the Ministry of Tourism based on the platform Hosted Web of the Interior Ministry, in the first half of 2026 the region recorded the greatest increase in tourist arrivals in Italy, equal to 10.54 percent, with a growth of 23.19 percent in foreign visitors, confirming itself among the most dynamic realities in the country.
«These are numbers that demonstrate how tourism represents an extraordinary opportunity for economic growth for Calabria and the Catanzaro area – declares the president of Confconstruction Calabria and Confconstruction Catanzaro, Sandro Scoppa –. Every tourist who chooses our territory generates benefits for hotels, restaurants, shops, beach establishments, commercial activities and the rental market.”
According to Confconstruction, the growth in demand makes it even more important to expand the supply of available homes, avoiding policies that discourage owners.
«If we want stronger tourism we must create favorable conditions for investments and the use of real estate. More freedom, legal certainty and less bureaucracy mean more houses on the market and greater possibilities of choice for those arriving in Calabria.”
The new territorial agreements for the City of Catanzaro and for the Catanzaro Ionian belt, recently signed with the contribution of Confedilizia, fit into this perspective.
These are modern agreements, built on the actual characteristics of the territories and not on abstract schemes. Concrete tools that favor the stipulation of contracts with an agreed fee enhance the different urban and coastal realities and also regulate in a more adequate manner transitory housing needs, which are particularly widespread in areas with a tourist vocation.
Now the Municipalities can also do their part, reducing the IMU on rented homes and eliminating the tourist tax. Taxing less on those who put a house on the market and not burdening those who choose to spend a holiday in the area means making the destination more competitive and encouraging attendance, consumption and investments.
For the historic and representative real estate association, tourism development and valorization of private property are two aspects of the same process. Every home placed on the market represents an opportunity for the entire territory. Where ownership is protected and contracts are simple and flexible, supply increases; where uncertainty, taxes and excessive regulation prevail, properties remain unused and the market becomes impoverished.
«The Catanzaro area has an extraordinary heritage, which includes the capital city, the entire Ionian strip and the Tyrrhenian side – concludes Scoppa -. We must enable owners and operators to respond to growing tourist demand. More homes available, less IMU and no tourist tax: this is how development, employment and widespread wealth are created, not with new constraints, but with greater economic freedom.”