Flights decrease, prices double: thus in Sardinia "the flow of foreign tourists is hindered"
Flights decreased by 14% compared to 2021, while those to Corsica, the Balearics, Sicily and Croatia increased. Prices, on the other hand, are rising dramatically
Cna, international flights node for Sardinia (photo Ansa)
More expensive prices and a thinner flight offer compared to 2021 in Sardinia.
The Cna points out this now that the tourist season is about to come to life. The total number of possible combinations (all those offered by the main European carriers, also considering the solutions with an intermediate stopover but with departure and arrival on the same day) fell by -14% .
A disheartening figure, even more so when compared to that of other islands: in Corsica the offer of flights has grown by 10%, Crete and Cyprus are + 30% compared to 2021, the Balearics and Croatia at + 25%, Algarve and Sicily + 15%.
The Cna carried out a booking simulation by comparing the number of connections, prices and accessibility of the main holiday destinations in the Mediterranean to define the conditions of the Sardinian airport offer.
An offer, notes the association, "which distances itself from that of its most virtuous competitors". If we add to this " the dizzying increase in travel costs " the result is an overall situation that " risks hindering the flow of international travelers ".
In three years, over two thousand combinations have been lost : from 7,875 combinations identified at the end of May 2019 to 5,668 in May 2022, with a decrease of -28%.
Sardinia is also the destination that has seen prices rise the most: + 97% compared to 2021 , followed by the Algarve (+ 90%), Cyprus (+ 77%) and Sicily (+ 72%).
The average round trip cost for a trip to Sardinia for a typical family of four from the main airports in central Europe in mid-August 2022 (booking at the end of May) is practically doubled, about 1,260 euros compared to 641 euros in 2021 .
The only hope, commented Luigi Tomasi and Francesco Porcu, president and regional secretary of Cna Sardinia, "is that Europeans' propensity to travel, fueled by the savings accumulated during the pandemic, will remain high". But there is the risk that " the regional tourism sector will see the growth trend that characterized the previous decade slow down , with Sardinia slowly but steadily gaining more and more popularity as an international tourist destination ".
