POST-COVID HOLIDAYS

The summer season has officially begun. The heat has literally invaded the boot and for the moment does not seem to want to go back on its feet! In fact, there is little to hope for... whether we like it or not, as in every summer, we must accept the idea of living with it, at least for a couple of months! Those lucky enough to live near the sea can relieve "suffering" with a dip every now and then. Who does not have this fortune, however, must opt for a nice swim in the pool, a rejuvenating walk in nature or settle for a refreshing shower. In these conditions the desire to go on holiday becomes an urgent need, to be met at any cost.

The only problem this year could be the pandemic. Are the restrictions and the fear of covid likely to affect our holidays? That is what we want to focus on. Our goal is to understand if, how much and how the pandemic has affected the travel choices of Italians. To respond objectively, we will rely on the data that emerge from the survey carried out by Istat in collaboration with the Ministry of Infrastructure and Sustainable Mobility. What does it consist of? Basically, it is a survey published since May 2021, which involved about 2000 Italians from different areas of Italy and various age groups. The goal was to understand if, how much and how the Covid pandemic affected them in choosing their holiday.

How many Italians will go on holiday in the summer months?

At the national level at least half of the citizens want to go on holiday, although looking at the data it is clear the gap between north and south: it goes from an average of 57% for residents in the North to 39% of residents in the South. The respondents who will not go on holiday, however, are even 1 in 3.

Why won’t a third of Italians go on holiday? Which are the other reasons?

The main reason, unfortunately, is the lack of economic resources. This reason, in fact, affects 32.7% of citizens at national level and 38.7% in southern Italy.

How many Italians will not go on holiday for fear related to covid? And for other reasons?

The study found that 15% of those who gave up their holiday for this reason. Below we find the health reasons, which affect 12.8% of the sample interviewed and work commitments and/ or study that affect 15.2%. It is interesting to note that this aspect (work and/or study commitments) represents the main obstacle to the departure on holiday for half of the population between 18 and 29 years. In fact, 48.8% of them said they could not afford a holiday for this reason.

Where will the Italians go on holiday?

Just like last year, Italy is the most chosen destination by far: almost all respondents, in fact, have declared that they want to spend their holidays here. 33.3% of them will remain in their region of residence, while 63.6% will go to another region. In this case, too, the South clearly deviates from the national average, with 56.3% of respondents saying they want to stay in their region. The percentage of citizens oriented towards a holiday abroad, however, is 6.2%.

What is the most popular holiday idea among Italians?

Apparently 34% are oriented towards group accommodation (hotel/hotel/pension). This solution is on average more common among the citizens of northern Italy. In the South and in the Center, instead, the choice to settle in the house/ apartment owned, with percentages ranging respectively from 38.3% to 36.7%. The national average, in this case, stands at 26.3%. The rent of an apartment is the third solution for importance, with a national average of 26.3%. The fourth option for importance is camping, chosen by 7.8% of Italians, with peaks of 14.2% in Southern Italy. Very timid are instead the reservations of tourist villages, hostels and cruises, which add up to just 5% of preferences.

What is the most popular means of transport?

If you have read our article on Italian and car you should have no difficulty answering this question! In fact, the study conducted by Istat confirmed our suspicion: 84% of Italians prefer to move by their own means! Then we find the train, which with 9.4% of preferences is placed in second place, followed by plane (9.3%) and ship (3.9%). The undecided ones are only 0.5%, while 1.1% will travel by other types of vehicles. Have you noticed that these statistics lack a type of transport? Yes, we have noticed it and we regret it, especially because the bus is the most sustainable among wheeled vehicles, as well as being the perfect mean for a slow and authentic type of tourism.

How long will the holidays of the Italians last?

For almost all respondents the maximum duration will be less than 14 days. The trend is that those who opt for a holiday in their region of residence have indicated a longer duration than those who will change region. 31.6% of Italians who will spend their holidays in the vicinity of their place of residence can enjoy longer than two weeks holidays. This percentage drops to 17% for Italians who will spend their holidays outside the region. The other interesting fact has to do with the age of the interviewees. The answers in fact show that the holidays of young people are shorter, unlike those of the over 65 ones, who, in more than half of the cases, can enjoy longer than two weeks holidays, if they stay in their regions of residence.

How much did the pandemic affect the choice of type of holiday?

The data tell us that more than half of the respondents (63.9%) were not influenced by the covid in choosing the type of holiday! Who has taken into account, in fact, is 36.1% of the sample analyzed, or just over 1 Italian out of 3.

Did the pandemic affect the chosen place? The means of transport? And the type of accommodation?

Apparently less than expected: 1 Italian out of 2 would have chosen the same place anyway. The exact percentage of those who have not been influenced by the covid is 48.6%.

The percentage increases further when we talk about the means of transport to reach the place of vacation. In this case, in fact, the respondents who would have chosen the same means, regardless of the pandemic, are 68.1%.

Finally, the type of accommodation chosen is not sensitive to the pandemic situation, with 73.1% of Italians declaring to have been little or not at all affected!

Will these holidays be safer than last year’s ones?

51.3% of Italians think so, 42.4% believe that it will not change much compared to 2020 and 4.9% think that they will be less secure. The percentage of undecided is 1.4%. Most likely in this case a determining role played the anti-covid vaccination campaign. With the number of vaccinated that continues to grow, people rightly feel less and less exposed to the threats of the virus!

In principle, therefore, we can say that for most Italians the covid was not decisive in the choice of the holiday, although it is impossible to ignore the fact that 1 Italian out of 3 is not going to leave!

We are also very sorry that one third of those interviewed who are not going on holiday cannot afford it for economic reasons. Regardless of the data of this survey, in fact, the pandemic has impacted so much (negatively) on the economy of our country. In this regard, the fact that most Italians intend to stay in Italy is good news, considering that tourism, even if domestic, represents an important lever for economic recovery. Italy is an open-air museum and offers countless solutions! Therefore, paradoxically, sometimes the biggest problem becomes choosing what to do among the thousand possibilities!

After all this holiday talk, the million-dollar question arises: have you already decided where to spend your vacation? Maybe our article on the proposals for summer 2021 can be an inspiration to you!

If you want to read more about the survey, you can find it here.