Where will tourists go on vacation for Easter 2023?

Under the motto of “Easter with whom you want,” there are many Italians and foreigners who will get out of cases to take a trip in the Easter week that once again confirms the driving power of art cities especially at this time of year (far from the temperatures suitable for the sea or skiing) for Italian tourism and the charm of the Belpaese cultural destinations for foreign visitors.

In the usual survey carried out for Easter 2023 by CST-Centro studi turistici for Assoturismo-Confesercenti in fact there will be more than 1.7 million presences in cultural tourism centers, with an increase of about 190 thousand overnight stays compared to Easter 2022. At least 780 thousand presences of Italian tourists and as many as 980 thousand international tourists (56 percent of the total) are expected. In the cities of art, +12% attendance is estimated compared to 2022, with an occupancy rate of accommodations around 80%, with the peak in Florence flying over 95%, with the increase of U.S., French, British, Spanish, Austrian, Dutch, Polish and Swiss tourists. The data on foreigners is interesting, which Enit delves into by calculating the number of nights foreign travelers stay in Italy: at least seven. The Italian Tourism Agency (which just in the last Council of Ministers was transformed of into a joint-stock company by launching a change in its governance) also monitored international airline bookings to Italy by recording 141,000 from April 9 to 15, 2023, an increase of 29 percent over the similar period in 2022 (April 17 to 23).

There is also a great return of overseas tourists that ENIT’s elaborations on Forwardkeys data calculate at 35,750 determining about +50% compared to last year representing 25.4% of the foreign total. Enit also gives us a profile of the air traveler for Easter: they choose economy travel (to which 84% of the total volume is attributable) and to book directly with the airline (54.7% of the total). People travel purely in pairs: 41.8% of international airport bookings are attributable to two passengers. Cts-Centro Studi Turistici also sought to understand booking patterns, and in this case for Italians only: 1.2 million all-inclusive vacation packages were booked at travel agencies for the week of Easter and spring breaks (April 25 and May 1) at the Italian agency network, an 11 percent increase over last year. Leading the way is the desire for cross-border travel, up 23 percent from 2022, while Italian destinations are down 7 percent.

Returning to foreigners coming to Italy, the favorite destinations for them too are the cities of art: Rome, Milan and Venice on the podium followed by Naples, Florence and Bologna. More than 64 thousand international airport arrivals are expected in Rome (+47% over 2022), 45.4% of the total. Milan follows with about 27 thousand bookings (19.1%) and an increase of +72.2%, the highest compared to other destinations.

For Confindustria Alberghi, reservations are also growing with double-digit increases for Italian cities: with Rome and Florence making it at +17% and Milan with +15%.

This is also why the mayors of the 14 major cities with cultural tourism are trying to put up a united front to try to manage the changes that these large flows have in the historic centers coe the depopulation of residents in favor of tourist rentals (with the consequence of rising prices in the real estate market) and the transformation of the commercial fabric that sees the supplanting of artisan or communal activities by those purely oriented to tourists and catering.

However, the strong growth figure for our cities of art is even more to be valued when we look at other major European cities that are basically standing still: Paris has just +0.1 percent over last year, Berlin +4.8 percent, Barcelona at 9 percent. Outside the European Union, the London of the newly appointed King Charles, with all the trappings of tradition and royalty that have flooded televisions around the world in recent months refreshing the image of the British monarchy, is registering a +15.4 percent thanks perhaps to newfound interest in the first cosmopolitan capital in world history.

Overall, according to the Observatory on Tourism by Confcommercio and Swg, more than 16 million Italians will travel for Easter and April 25 evenly divided, of whom 60 percent will stay away from home for two nights, while only 10 percent will stay away for a week.

Where will tourists go on vacation for Easter 2023?

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