Montagna mon amour, almost 9 million Italians on holiday in the snow

Tecnè survey for Federalberghi:for long holidays the North is preferred, weekend getaways reward the Center and South

ROME - Italians don't give up skiing holidays. There are almost nine million who, between January and March, spent a few days in the mountains:six and a half million preferred the traditional ski week, while 2.4 million opted for the weekend in a snowy destination.

The photograph of the tourist movement of Italians during ski holidays was created by the report by Tecnè on behalf of Federalberghi.This revealed a total turnover of 6.1 billion euros, of which 4.3 billion related to ski weeks.

But where do Italians prefer to go?They certainly stay at home (only 4.5% choose abroad), crowning themselves the North is the king of white weeks.For weekend skiing, the mountain resorts of the Center and South recover.Reservations are made on average one month in advance, the preferred stay is in a hotel.They dedicate themselves to skiing and sports activities in general, walks and experiences linked to food and wine events, they are ready to give up overly expensive resorts due to their lower spending capacity, but not the possibility of spending a holiday in the mountains, perhaps by adjusting the shot to avoid going over the budget.

The survey was carried out by Tecnè s.r.l.in the period between 27 February and 2 March by interviewing with the mixed mode system of which c.a.t.i.(61%), c.a.m.i (8%) and c.a.w.i (31%) a sample of 4,520 Italian adults.Probabilistic sample, representative of the adult population resident in Italy, stratified by region and demographic size class of the municipalities.Control variables:age group, qualification, occupation.

WHITE WEEKS

FAVORITE DESTINATIONS – 95.5% of those interviewed chose to spend the skiing week in Italy and the remaining 4.5% abroad.In particular, among those who do not cross national borders, 72.6% go to the northern regions and only 22.9% to the central-southern ones also due to the low snowfall in the Apennines which negatively affected demand.

THE AVERAGE EXPENDITURE – The per capita expense incurred for the ski week, including all items (transport, accommodation, food, facilities, ski courses and entertainment) is equal to 670 euros per person.The first expense item is that of meals (29.8%), followed by accommodation (28.4%) and travel (19.6%).

THE ACCOMMODATION – When choosing accommodation for the ski week, Italians confirm their preference for hotels (26.8%), followed by bed & breakfasts (23.3%).This is followed by the home of relatives and friends (16.1%) and the Alpine refuge (13.0%).

WHEN YOU BOOK – The majority of reservations are made well in advance:41.2% one month before, 8.1% one and a half months before, 10.6% two months before and 4.5% between three and four months before.

THE CHOICE OF LOCATION AND ACTIVITIES – The criteria that guide the choice of location are:its natural beauty (73.4%) and the characteristics that make it ideal for having fun (22.9%).The main activities carried out during this holiday period are:relaxation (65.1%), walks (63.8%) and participation in food and wine events (59.1%).

NOT JUST SKIING WEEK – Of the 6.5 million Italians who have done or will do a skiing week, 700 thousand will also treat themselves to at least a weekend in the snow.

WEEKENDS IN THE SNOW

FAVORITE DESTINATIONS – Those who spend weekends in the snow, however, remain within national borders.In particular, 38.6% go to the central-southern regions and 61.4% to the northern ones.

THE AVERAGE EXPENDITURE – The per capita expenditure incurred for weekends on the snow, including all items (transport, accommodation, food, facilities, ski courses and entertainment) is equal to 257 euros per person, broken down as follows:for meals 26.5%, for accommodation 21.7%, for travel expenses 17.3% and for shopping 6.8%.

THE ACCOMMODATION – The preferred accommodation in this case is the home of relatives and friends (40.0%), followed by bed & breakfasts (38.3%), alpine refuges (6.7%) and hotels (6. 4%).

WHEN YOU BOOK – In this case Italians book close to the holiday:41.3% three weeks before and 41.4% fifteen days before.

THE CHOICE OF LOCATION–  In this case, among the criteria that guide the choice, in addition to its ease of reaching (67.2%) we find the natural beauty it offers (52.6%).

THE INCREASE IN PRICES – 60.0% of weekend holidaymakers who were influenced by inflation on their holiday choices, gave up their ski holiday due to the increase in prices.

THE REASONS FOR NOT VACATION – Among the individuals interviewed who will not go on holiday, 59.7% revealed that they are not going for economic reasons;18.1% due to the increase in prices and another 14.8% for family reasons.

“For us it is a nice confirmation that comes close to Easter, which gives us hope.We had moments of difficulty, fearing that winter tourism could be penalized in terms of performance by the lack of snowfall. The direct consequence is evident especially with regards to the Apennines.Currently the peaks are well covered in snow and the scenario could change.We are certainly increasingly admired by the fact that our fellow citizens continue to prefer Italian destinations when planning their trip", commented the president of Federalberghi, Bernabò Bocca, on Tecnè's research.

“The hotel solution remains the favorite during the ski holiday period, a nice breath of fresh air for our businesses – continued Bocca – All this is an excellent omen”.

“What works against the prospect of a holiday, whatever period we want to talk about, is unfortunately the impact of lower spending capacity – concluded the president of Federalberghi – According to our survey, seven out of ten Italians have had to deal with price increases, orienting their choices differently.And for us this can never be good news."