The decline, at a superficial glance, seems limited: 1.65% less revenue in 2025 compared to 2024, a 4.44% decrease in room nights sold. "But the real alarm bells ring loud and clear when we analyze the month-by-month trend." Maurizio Battelli, head of the Extra association and organizer of the non-hotel tourism fair that will liven up Cagliari for three days, from April 10th to 12th, provides a detailed analysis of the non-hotel tourism market in Cagliari. He calls it an "alarm," bluntly.

"It seemed like a year of stabilization, but if we dig beneath the surface, the data from our city's sector (B&Bs, guesthouses, vacation rentals, short-term rentals) tell a very worrying story," Battelli says. From May 2025 to today , "we've been witnessing a constant hemorrhage. There hasn't been a single month of growth."

From May to January, "we recorded an uninterrupted decline in occupancy. And it was a terrifying winter: December 2025 saw a 15.27% drop in revenue and nearly 14% fewer nights sold. 2026 got off to a dramatic start: January plummeted, with a 37.57% drop in revenue and a 29.98% drop in average rates. In other words? Prices are being drastically lowered to fill rooms, but the tourists simply aren't there."

According to Battelli, "We can no longer pretend nothing is happening and sweep it under the rug. This constant decline isn't just bad luck or the weather. It's structural. We need to ask ourselves some serious questions."

And the questions are: Are air connections and territorial continuity penalizing us outside of the high season? Is there a lack of a real strategy to deseasonalize and promote Cagliari during the winter months? Have the excessively high prices of the summer driven away a segment of tourists?

"It's time to open our eyes and start a real discussion before the entire 2026 season is compromised," Battelli warns.

Enrico Fresu

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