Italian vacation patterns shift from August as holiday homes and tourism surge

In the summer of 2026, Italian travellers are abandoning the traditional August holiday peak. According to a Facile.it survey commissioned by EMG, 16 million Italians – about one‑half of those traveling – will take vacations in July and/or September, with the average stay falling to 11 days. Holiday‑home rentals now attract 26.9 % of travellers (more than 7.6 million users), while the share of hotels, agriturismi and B&Bs has fallen to 38.2 %. The average budget per traveller is €939, prompting many to use personal‑loan credit for travel expenses.

National tourism statistics confirm the trend. The Italian Ministry of Tourism reported a 61.3 % OTA occupancy rate in June 2025, up 13.4 % year‑on‑year, and 36 million total arrivals in April 2025, outpacing Germany and Greece. Lombardy, Italy’s top tourism region, recorded a record 56.7 million visitor‑nights in 2025 (68 % foreign) and a further 8.7 % rise in the first five months of 2026. The region’s tourism sector now employs over 260 000 workers, though half are in precarious part‑time contracts.

The surge in demand has intensified overtourism concerns. The UNWTO defines overtourism as exceeding a destination’s capacity, leading to resident dissatisfaction. Italy’s most visited beaches are now operating reservation systems; for example, Sardinia’s La Pelosa beach has bookings exhausted through mid‑September, and other coastal sites impose daily visitor caps to protect fragile ecosystems.

Overall, the combined data show a structural shift in Italian travel behaviour, a robust growth in the tourism economy, and mounting pressure on popular destinations, prompting authorities to implement crowd‑control measures.