Covid devastates culture: 4 out of 10 Italians have stopped attending it

Covid-19, and with it the measures put in place to counter its spread, continues to have disastrous effects on the cultural habits of Italians. The latest data come from a survey by Nomisma ’sHybrid Lifestyle Observatory, which, in collaboration with CRIF, wanted to take a snapshot of the places of culture and entertainment (but also of the options for being able to revitalize the sector in Italy, fostering cultural consumption) almost two years after the start of the pandemic.

As everyone knows, in Italy the crisis caused by the pandemic involved all productive sectors in 2020, albeit with relatively different intensities between sectors. That which includes activities related to cultural, entertainment and amusement pathways and other services saw a contraction in value added of 14.6 percent (source: Istat). The most significant impact affected the sectors most affected by the restrictive measures, and in particular, again from Istat data, it is noted that the share of cultural and entertainment enterprises that manifested serious risks of closure was more than 60 percent.

All this had an obvious reflection on the attendance of cultural venues, with pitiless numbers when compared to 2019, both in terms of visitors and revenue. As far as museums are concerned, looking at the figure for state museums (the source is the data released by the Ministry of Culture) in 2020 9.7 million visitors were missing from the roll call (equivalent to -69%), when there were 14.1 in 2019, and this also had a reflection for revenues, since if in 2019 they amounted to 80.5 million, in 2020 they stopped at 24.5 million (-56 million, or -70%). Even in 2021, the entertainment industry, as well as the culture sector more generally, were among the hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. Looking instead at Cinetel data for cinemas, just under 16 million euros were collected in August 2021, 62 percent less than in the same period in 2019, a similar contraction was seen in the number of moviegoers.

The situation improved in 2021. Over the course of the year, the places of entertainment and culture most frequently visited (regularly, often or rarely) were cinemas (39 percent) and museums (36 percent). Italians, although to a lesser extent, did not give up sports events (21 percent), theaters (20 percent) and live concerts (17 percent). Capacity in cultural venues increased between October and December 24, 2021: theaters, cinemas returned to 100% of available seats, stadiums to 50% from January 10, 2022. According to Nomisma/CRIF research, 54% of Italians agreed with this measure. Positive signs confirming this appreciation were seen in the third week of December 2021 with the release of the latest film in the Spider-Man saga (17.7 million euros in box office and 2.34 million viewers, period December 15 - 27, source Cinetel). Among those who resumed attending such venues in the past year, 37 percent did so to “disconnect” from daily life; 1 in 3 Italians chose it to return to sociability, 1 in 4 Italians then decided to follow their passions, participating in events capable of bringing back the emotions of live appearances.

The ways of purchasing the entrance ticket to places of culture and entertainment see digital (46%) prevailing, both online on the site of the structure and online on other sites. These are mainly the 30-44 and 18-29 age groups, and Italians living in central and northern Italy. Theater, museum and stadium are the places of culture and entertainment that are most “married” to digital technology for purchasing tickets. In contrast, nearly 4 out of 10 Italians prefer to purchase at the ticket counters on the day of the visit to the cultural route or show.

Regarding the position of Italians in relation to restrictive measures, 79% of Italians consider the presence of sanitizing gel and/or masks on site to be positive, 78% agree with Green Pass verification, and 77% agree with the guarantee on the sanitization of venues. 65 percent of Italians also consider the reduction of the maximum allowed capacity, an element already taken up by the Christmas Decree 2021, to be an indispensable point, along with the obligation to wear the most protective masks, of the FFP2 type.

The most worrying data emerging from the Nomisma/CRIF survey concerns attendance: as many as 4 out of 10 Italians have stopped attending entertainment and cultural venues because of the pandemic. Among the main reasons emerges the fear of being infected (47 percent), but also from the lack of opportunities and possibilities had during the last year (37 percent). What path, then, to revitalize the culture sector in Italy? The research asked the sample to comment on this issue as well. To help relaunch the sector, 44% of Italians suggest greater attention to the safety of its venues. Motivations related to health protection are flanked by economic proposals to support cultural consumption; 41% would like the extension of the culture bonus to the entire population; 37% suggest in equal measure the possibility of taking money spent on cultural consumption as a tax deduction (a proposal launched, moreover, on these pages as early as April 2020) and the extension of the period of promotions. Finally, for 3 out of 10 Italians, a “Black Friday” of culture could be instituted in order to have access to exhibitions and events at subsidized prices; also important from this point of view is the possibility of offering packages to access a set of integrated services (e.g. transportation, restaurant, ...) proposing a complete experiential path.

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Covid devastates culture: 4 out of 10 Italians have stopped attending it

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