ROMA (ITALPRESS) – In the first trimester of the year, according to the administrative source Accomodation Web, tourist arrivals are up 5.5%, while attendance is up 6.8%. On a monthly basis, January shows an increase of arrivals of 4.3% and attendance of 6.1%. A similar trend is observed in February, with an increase in arrivals of 6.5% and attendance of 6.1%. There are slightly higher figures in the March tourist presences, which recorded an increase of 7.9% with an increase of 5.6% arrivals.
The trend is also positive for spring holidays. Both April 25th and May 1st, in fact, show a performance already at the levels of last year, with an average price of approximately 7% and an average online OTA saturation rate, according to the data processed by the Statistical Office of the Ministry of Tourism. Numbers that acquire a greater importance especially in the light of the fact that in 2025 travellers could take advantage of the maxi-bridge from Easter to May 5, while this year the only short bridge is that of the Workers’ Day.
Air connectivity to Italy is also estimated to increase, with a +10.6% in 2026 on an annual basis: percentage increases are recorded both for short-range routes (+10.8%) and for medium-range routes (+11.2%), as well as for long-range (+7.3%). In particular, domestic air connectivity is expected to rise by 11.7% in 2026, while among the 20 main markets for capacity of places are Poland, Albania, Romania and Denmark, with year-over-year increments of 20%.
Other key markets also show a solid expansion, including Spain (+10.7%), United States (+11.1%), Greece (+12.2%), Egypt (+14.7%) and Hungary (+12.4%). Mature markets such as Germany (+3.4%), France (+1.7%), the Netherlands (+4.5%), Switzerland (+7.2%) and Belgium (+4.7%) record more moderate increases in seating capacity. It should also be noted that American tourists are travelling in spring and, especially in summer, reaching 7.6% of the US demand for Europe. Data that does not correspond to actual bookings as to online searches, but that still show good signs.
The trend of Italian tourism in this first part of 2026 is therefore positive and encouraging. Of course, the Ministry of Tourism closely monitors the current geopolitical situation, also maintaining a constant interlocution with the associations of category and promoting itself, as Minister Mazzi recalled, of a European fund dedicated to emergencies to adequately support the operators in addressing current challenges without compromising the quality of the services offered. In the background, the awareness that tourism is an area that has already proven, in the past, its resilience in difficult times. Not by chance, it was the first sector to recover after the Covid and to give back momentum to the national economy, as Minister Mazzi recalled today.
-Photo IPA Agency-
(ITALPRESS).
