ROMA (ITALPRESS) – The Mediterranean Games, scheduled from 21 August to 3 September, represent “an extraordinary opportunity to tell the world Taranto and Puglia, promoting its cultural, landscape and food and wine heritage, and strengthening the attraction of Mezzogiorno and Italy. In tourist terms, in the period of the event, the saturation of the Apulian accommodation on the online platforms reaches 56.7%, with an increase of 6.9 percentage points regarding the same period of 2025“. These are the data processed by the Statistical Office of the Ministry of Tourism.
The reception system of Taranto, in particular, “records all exhausted, so as to prepare also two hotel ships moored to the port to welcome athletes and delegations”. Numbers that “reconfirm the attractiveness of the great events, always important streams, as well as the value of sports tourism: a sector from the business trip estimated in more than 12 billion euros, constantly growing, and able to generate more than 42 million presences.”.
The estimates on the weeks of the Games, among other things, follow a first semester of the year very positive for Italy, in which Puglia has recorded an increment of 7.6% of the arrivals and 7.7% of the attendance regarding the same period of 2025.
Growth continued in July, with an increase of 5.9% of arrivals and 6% of attendance. In this framework, the ministry explains, “Taranto is a protagonist, with an increase of 2.8% in the first six months and, in July, a performance higher than the regional average in arrivals, increased by 6.6%, accompanied by an increase of 4.8% of attendance”.
Moreover, in the first trimester, “international tourism spending in Puglia has reached 206 million euros, in strong increase of 89 million on 2024 and 59 million on 2025”. Data that are also reflected in mobility. “In the first six months of 2026, Apulian airports have enlivened altogether 5.71 million passengers, 10.4% more than the same period of 2025.”.
The port of Taranto, meanwhile, has passed from 314 passengers of 2015 to 126.708 of 2025, recording a clamorous increase of 40 thousand percent and progressively consolidating its role in the Italian crocieristico tourism.
The Mediterranean Games will also involve the provinces of Bari, Brindisi and Lecce, with competitions spread in thirteen different municipalities. The impact of the event will go beyond the two weeks of races: the infrastructural plan involves 45 plants in 21 municipalities, for a total investment of approximately 300 million euros, and aims to leave the Apulian territories sports facilities, mobility services and urban interventions able to strengthen over time the tourist attraction.
-Photo IPA Agency-
(ITALPRESS).
