2023-10-06 07:10:45
Europe Italy
Where every move costs holidaymakers two euros
After the pandemic, Italy’s travel industry increased prices sharply. In addition, even the smallest services are often charged, such as cutting a sandwich in half. This annoys and alienates many vacationers – even from their own country.
Status: 06.10.2023 | Reading time: 3 minutes
Expensive beach fun: In Portofino you pay 150 euros for two loungers plus an umbrella
Quelle: picture alliance / SchnepfPictur
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Like the whole world, Italy suffered from Corona, especially the travel industry. In the first year after the pandemic was overcome, American tourists in particular returned in droves with their strong dollar, and since the middle of the year you have been seeing more Asians again wherever Italy is as beautiful as on Instagram. According to the Italian National Tourist Board (Enit), 15 million international visitors were counted in the first quarter of 2023 alone, 42 percent more than in the first three months of the previous year.
The strong popularity continued into the summer season, with a record number of 68 million holidaymakers from abroad expected by the end of the year. In contrast, fewer Italians vacationed in their own country than expected, reports the Federalberghi hotel association – because the prices were too high for them. Compared to the previous year, hotels in Italy have increased in price by 33 percent, campsites by 20 percent and restaurants by 15 percent. Flights have almost doubled in price year-on-year.
It’s not just Italian consumer advocates who are criticizing the travel industry for the blatant price increases. Foreign media have now also taken up the topic. According to the US news channel CNN, this summer bars in popular tourist resorts in particular had no problem charging for every little thing they did. A couple on Lake Como asked them to please cut the ham sandwich in half. Was done promptly, but only for two euros on the invoice.
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A young mother who asked in a bar in the coastal town of Ostia whether her baby’s bottle could be heated in the microwave was also asked to pay two euros. American tourists had to pay the same amount in a restaurant near Portofino who asked for an additional empty plate. The ten cents that a café on Lake Como charged for a pinch of cocoa on a cappuccino seemed comparatively cheap.
High costs also on the beach in Italy
However, it is also significantly more expensive. If you order two cups of espresso and two small bottles of water in the luxury hotel “Porto Cervo” on the sought-after Costa Smeralda in Sardinia, you will have to shell out 60 euros. The hotelier told CNN that the prices were clearly listed in the menu and were justified simply because of the beautiful view of the harbor and the expensive yachts there.
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Holidaymakers who wanted to enjoy Italy’s beaches also had to dig deep into their pockets this season. The Swiss tourism portal Travelnews.ch According to this, a day at the beach cost a family around 115 euros on average. Apulia is comparatively cheap: there, an average of 50 euros per day was charged for two loungers with a parasol, but only during the week; on weekends, almost twice as much was charged.
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However, three times as much – 150 euros – was charged in Portofino, during the week. A day at the beach in high season at the “Le Cinque Vele Beach Club” in Marina di Pescoluse in Salento was really expensive: there, a pavilion with four deck chairs cost 1,035 euros – per day. At least towels, fruit and a bottle of champagne were included.
By the way, the Italians didn’t stay at home this summer. However, they avoided their own beaches. Instead, a record number of them moved to cheaper countries such as Egypt and Montenegro. Albania was particularly popular: over half a million Italians spent their summer vacation there, including Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and her family. Their vacation was particularly cheap – Albania’s head of government had invited everyone.
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