Shortened holidays: same attendance with double the number of tourists
Last minute is spreading, holidaymakers are staying put and spending less. This is why the record numbers at the airport are not reflected in the hotel facilities
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Lots of people, but bad Christmas Eve. Even though there are earnings for hotels and accommodation facilities, until the last moment hoteliers and owners of bed and breakfasts or guest houses remained in doubt about not filling up. But then the long-awaited reservation arrived, even if in the Cesarini zone. In the Italian tourism crisis, according to the Sole 24 Ore only three regions are holding up and we are among them, together with Trentino and Veneto. However, many things are changing, and we will have to think about it before arriving at a "not at all sold out" which would be a de profundis for a driving sector of the Sardinian economy.
“Slow” bookings
Sardinian tour operators have trembled a lot, on the occupancy rate from August 20th onwards. This, because in July it seemed that the prospects were bleak, but with the last minute great things have been done. At the beginning of the month the list of reservations was a cry, but then day after day the requests arrived. In short, the last minute is becoming more and more widespread.
Numbers to interpret
It is striking that Cagliari Elmas airport has set a record, but the accommodation facilities have not for the entire summer. "It means that tourists have shortened their stay," analyzes Fausto Mura, president of Federalberghi Confcommercio Sud Sardegna, "because they save: on the number of nights and on the restaurant." All poor? "No, but 60 percent of them arrive on low-cost flights at the last minute: when you increase the customers but not the turnover, given that the hotel rooms are always the same, it means that less wealthy tourists arrive. This is why," concludes Mura, "the airports set records: instead of having an arrival and departure in ten days for a tourist who stays for that period, we have two tourists who stay for five days. Result: more airline tickets sold, but the same number of presences." Mura is concerned about overtourism, that is, the excessive number of tourists for short periods: "An environmental and socioeconomic problem."
