TOP NEWS

🏖️ 7Pines Resort Sardinia, located on Costa Smeralda, reopened recently, offering hospitality and sustainability. Recognized by Forbes Travel Guide's 2025 Star Awards for sustainability and hospitality excellence, it features meticulous environmental impact reduction and local resource use. Its restaurant Capogiro, awarded by Michelin Guide for 2024 and 2025, reopens May 2, while Cone Club opens June 1. The 800 sqm Pure Seven Spa and sport academies by Karel Nováček, Massimo Fenu, and Dustin Brown are also available, alongside the Kio House of Kids for eco-awareness.

🍕 Masardona, renowned for Neapolitan fried pizza, launches the second season of "Napoli Racconta Napoli – Special Delivery" on May 1, with episodes available every Thursday. Creators Salvatore and Cristiano Piccirillo aim to promote Naples culturally. The docuseries, produced by Bread and Network, shifts focus from entrepreneurial figures to contemporary pop culture artists, featuring Salvatore Esposito and Antonio Nocera. Masardona's story began in 1945 with Anna Manfredi and evolved into an internationally recognized brand by the fourth generation, with a recent expansion in Rome and participation in prestigious events like the G7 and Giorgio Armani celebrations. Celebrating 80 years, the brand has undergone rebranding by Bread And Network, enhancing its identity while preserving its heritage.

🏖 In Numana, the fifth "Stati Generali del turismo delle Marche" occurred, confirming the region's tourism growth in 2024. President Francesco Acquaroli highlighted April's increasing tourist demand. The Marche Region allocated over €66 million for tourism, including €24 million for "borghi accoglienti" and €14.7 million for facility refurbishment, with an upcoming deadline extension. En plein air tourism accounts for 2 million visits. Foreign market efforts, particularly from the USA (4% of visits), are set to intensify in 2025, with an anticipated American Chamber of Commerce branch in the region, as announced by Massimiliano Polacco, director general of Confcommercio Marche.

🏕 Club del Sole aims to manage 30 or more villages within the next four years, marking significant growth with 3.2 million presences in 2024. With strategic partners Tec-The Equity Club and Aurora Growth Capital, an investment of €167 million is planned for 2026-2028, targeting a turnover of €170 million by 2028 and an Ebitda over 35%. Expansion includes projects in Riccione and Silvi Marina, with €60 million allocated to a 20-hectare family collection cluster, and new acquisitions in Trentino Alto Adige to cater to an international clientele, currently at 45%. Collaborations with architect Pietro Giorgieri aim to capitalize on the Milano-Cortina 2026 Olympics, and Club del Sole is diversifying offerings into four clusters to align with market trends identified with Boston Consulting Group's help.

🏖️ In Sardegna, tourism is booming with bookings arriving 50 days ahead from Germany, Switzerland, Netherlands, and Austria. Paolo Manca, President of Federalberghi Sardegna, highlights a rise in July bookings, steady numbers for August, and positive forecasts for the summer. Key cities like Cagliari and Alghero are popular, with a 3% increase in reservations for May 1st, boosted by direct flights. May, September, and October show a 5-7% increase in beach resort bookings compared to last year, with 50% of hotels already open.

🏨 Italian Minister of Tourism Daniela Santanchè announced an upcoming tender for housing aimed at tourism workers. The initiative includes discussions with Invimit (100% owned by the Ministry of Economy and Finance) to leverage public real estate assets. The focus is on addressing the accommodation challenges faced by workers, often from outside the area, affected by high rental costs. Santanchè also mentioned repurposing decommissioned hotels and maintaining part of the Olympic village in Cortina post-2026 Games for workers’ housing.

📅 Italian hospitality businesses report a 60% room occupancy rate for Easter, with over 670,000 rooms sold, generating approximately €128 million. Bookings are strongest for slow tourism destinations, exceeding 70% occupancy. Cities of art bookings stand at 63.9%, mountain destinations at 61.3%, and thermal destinations at 59.6%. Advance sales for spring holidays are at 57% for April 25th and 55% for May 1st. Foreign tourism contributes to a 4.5% increase in airport arrivals from March to May 2025 compared to the same period in 2024, with Rome expecting 28.4% of these due to the Jubilee effect. The top five markets for holiday stays in Italy are the UK (15.1%), Germany (10.3%), USA (8.7%), France (8.8%), and Spain (7.7%). Italy outperforms France with nearly 7 million arrivals. For summer 2025, 60% of June, 64.8% of July, and 65.4% of August rooms are already sold.

🍰 Easter 2025 in Italy will see 11.3 million travelers, including 7 million adults and 4.3 million minors, with a surge in travel due to the proximity of the holidays on April 25 and May 1, leading to an estimated extended vacation period and a business turnover of approximately 4.9 billion euros. The majority, 88%, will vacation domestically, with seaside (34.9%), mountain (23.9%), and art cities (18.5%) as top destinations, while 12% will journey abroad, favoring major European capitals (76.6%). The average trip duration is expected to be 4.7 days, with an average spending of 438 euros per person, of which meals (32.2%) and travel (23.5%) will take the largest share. Accommodations will mainly be with friends or relatives (42.4%), and travel will be predominantly by car (75%). Nearly half of the travelers (41.6%) plan to reduce expenses due to inflation. The survey was conducted by Tecnè s.r.l. between March 31 and April 6, interviewing a representative sample of 4,009 Italian adults.

🏨 Sabre GDS, a leading Global Distribution System platform, enhances hotel visibility to agencies and travel managers worldwide. It functions as a centralized booking system, initially developed for airline ticketing but now encompasses hotels, car rentals, and cruises. Sabre, along with Amadeus and Travelport, makes up the "big three" GDS providers. It offers real-time access to hotel availability, pricing, and bookings. Hotels connected to Sabre GDS appear to over 425,000 travel agencies globally, increasing international exposure, especially for properties near business centers or airports. Guests booking via GDS tend to have higher average daily rates, longer stays, and are often repeat travelers. Connection to Sabre GDS requires a certified channel manager or Central Reservation System (CRS), and it is recommended to maintain rate parity and sufficient allotment. Tools like Chekin can further improve the guest experience post-booking with features such as online check-in, personalized travel guides, and secure payment processing. Sabre GDS remains a valuable tool for hoteliers aiming to boost business and international bookings.

🏠 Massimo Caputi, President of Federterme Confindustria, reported thermal tourism showing resilience with an occupancy rate for thermal hotels projected between 65% and 70% during Easter and May 1st holidays. This rate represents a 1.2% increase from 2024. Italy's thermal sector anticipates 76,000 arrivals and 251,000 overnight stays, averaging 3.32 days in over 290 thermal hotels. The most popular package includes a three-night full-board stay with unlimited access to thermal pools and fitness areas. Day visitors, who use thermal services without overnight stays, could account for over 60% of guests. The leading regions in Italy's thermal tourism—Veneto, Campania, Tuscany, and Emilia Romagna—attract over 80% of the stays.