Major events offer Italy a sustainable opportunity

Italy’s big upcoming events, such as the 2025 Jubilee and the Milan-Cortina Olympics in 2026, stand to make an important impact on tourism

To mitigate the risk of overbooking and reinforce sustainability, Italy is looking to careful flow planning, ensuring that residents’ lives are not disturbed, and that tourists enjoy a pleasant stay.

Events make an important contribution to destinations’ tourism performance and Italy is no exception. Last year’s Ryder Cup golf event held in Rome from 29 September to 1 October, a period that tends to be considered part of the shoulder season for major tourist influxes, brought no less than an average occupancy rate of 74% to the capital’s hotels and private apartments, compared to 51.2% the previous year.

The country has a few major events on the horizon over the next two years, namely the 2025 Jubilee and the Milan-Cortina Olympics in 2026, which are also poised to draw a large influx of tourists. For the Jubilee, 35 million tourist arrivals are expected to generate 105 million stays, with an expected doubling of flows, making for a tourist expenditure of EUR 16.7bn. For the Milan-Cortina Olympics, 513,000 arrivals are expected, 34% more than the same period in 2023, along with 1.8 million stays and a predicted tourist expenditure of EUR 281mn.

The huge appeal of these events taking place in a precise and limited period of time can make the destinations hosting them vulnerable in terms of sustainability. According to the estimates of Italy’s National Institute for Tourism Research (Isnart), there is a risk of overbooking for both events. This risk is very high for the Jubilee, considering the 400,000 beds in the current accommodation capacity that already have an average annual occupancy rate of 66%. It is also probable for the Milan-Cortina Olympics, considering the current 250,000 beds with an average occupancy rate of 63% during the same period, but partially reduced by the fact that tourist stays will be distributed over a wider area.

To reduce these risks, the Italian National Tourism Organization (ENIT) is projecting careful flow planning to ensure that residents’ lives will not be disrupted and that tourists attending these events enjoy their stay.

In addition to these large sporting and religious events, Italy has another vast event tourism offering in music. Often seen as a niche market, music tourism offers significant economic sustainability, having contributed GBP 4.7bn (EUR 5.5bn) to the UK economy in 2019, with an estimated growth to over GBP 5.4 bn (EUR 6.3bn) in 2022.

Italian opera houses are already seeing important tourist flows with the Teatrale alla Scala Museum receiving around 250,000 visitors a year while the La Fenice theatre attracts some 180,000 visitors each year. Going beyond the traditional stars of Italian tourism – Milan, Venice, Rome, Naples – music festivals and events constitute a major pull for some of the country’s lesser-known destinations. The Arena di Verona Opera Festival in 2023 recorded its highest ever revenue with a total attendance of 402,722 spectators. The Sferisterio-Macerata Opera Festival and the Rossini Opera Festival in Pesaro also draw music lovers from all over the world to Italy, the home of opera.

Apart from its famous opera houses and prestigious opera festivals, Italy offers a wealth of other musical experiences that range from conservatoire training initiatives and prestigious masterclasses to activities related to the tradition of luthiery, music publishing, and fine craftsmanship for costume making and stage set design.

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Photo: © Caleb Miller-unsplash


重大活动将为意大利旅游业提供可持续发展机遇

意大利即将迎来一系列世界瞩目的重大活动,如2025禧年和2026年米兰科尔蒂纳冬奥会,势必对该国旅游产生重要影响。

为了减轻过度预订的风险并加强可持续发展,意大利正积极准备详尽的流量规划,在减少对当地居民生活干扰的同时,为游客提供愉快的旅行体验。

事件旅游中的重大节庆活动或赛事对目的地的旅游业绩贡献重大,意大利也不例外。去年9月29日至10月1日在罗马举办了莱德杯高尔夫赛,尽管这段时间通常被认为是旺季和淡季之间的过渡期,但赛事仍然给罗马酒店和私人公寓带来了平均74%的入住率,而前一年同期入住率仅为51.2%。

未来两年,意大利将举办多项重大活动,特别是2025禧年和2026年米兰科尔蒂纳冬奥会,这些活动有望吸引大量游客。2025年的禧年计划预计将吸引3,500万名游客,过夜停留次数将达1.05亿次,旅游流量翻倍,旅游支出更是高达167亿欧元。至于米兰科尔蒂纳冬奥会,预计将有51.3万游客,比2023年同期增长34%,同时将产生180万次过夜停留,预计旅游支出为2.81亿欧元。

然而,这些活动吸引大量人群在特定和有限的时间内造访,可能会使承办地在可持续性方面更加脆弱。根据意大利国家旅游研究所(Isnart)的估计,这两项活动都存在过度预订的风险。特别是禧年,超订风险极高;目前40万张床位的住宿容量,年均入住率已达66%。对于米兰科尔蒂纳冬奥会来说,超订风险也不容忽视。现有的25万张床位,同期的年均入住率已经达到63%;但考虑到游客的停留选择范围更广,这一数字可能会有所降低。

为了降低这些风险,意大利国家旅游组织(ENIT)计划进行详细的流量规划,以避免居民的生活受到干扰,同时确保参加活动的游客能够享受愉快的体验。

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