Empty beaches, down 30%: crowded only on weekends. Gassmann: prices are exorbitant.

Empty beaches, crowded only on weekends, umbrellas closed the rest of the week. An average drop in beach resort occupancy of between 20 and 30%. Bar, restaurant, and equipment rental services have been reduced to a minimum. This is the worrying assessment of June and July drawn up by industry operators, who are hoping for a recovery in the middle weeks of August, but are well aware that this false start will weigh on the season's revenue.

Umbrellas on Poetto Beach in Cagliari, Sardinia, Italy (GettyImages)

Beach umbrellas (Photo by Linda72 from Pixabay)

Expensive beach umbrellas: Gassmann's social media post . Consumer associations are blaming the high prices. "Perhaps you've overstated the prices a bit, and is the country's economic situation pushing Italians to choose a public beach?" Alessandro Gassmann wonders on social media. Other celebrities, like Salvo Sottile, are also sharing the same complaint on social media. The managers reject these accusations, blaming the decline in families' purchasing power. Minister Daniela Santanchè calls it "scaremongering," noting that "tourism is changing and 'summer isn't just about the beach.'"

Assobalneari: Declining Visitors . Assobalneari estimates a decline "both in terms of visitor numbers and consumption": a phenomenon linked to the decline in household purchasing power and the slowdown in foreign tourism, especially European tourism, "influenced by an unstable international scenario and economic uncertainty." President Fabrizio Licordari claims to have asked members "not to increase rates, but to make minimal adjustments at best, to address the difficulties faced by families." Rather, he says, it is up to the government to continue "defending the Italian beach resort sector from the attacks of Brussels technocrats, who seek to put concessions out to tender in an illegitimate manner."

According to the Sib, while June saw "an overall increase of approximately 20% in attendance and consumption" compared to 2024, July saw "an overall reduction of approximately 15% (with peaks of 25% in some regions such as Calabria and Emilia Romagna)." On our beaches, "there are fewer Italians and more foreigners." It's also been a disappointing season for Fiba Confesercenti, which reports "a 25% to 30% drop in attendance between June and July."

Codacons: Beaches are a drain on families. Consumer associations, however, have no doubts: the beach has become "a drain on families," claims Codacons, describing "crocodile tears" from beach resort managers and listing luxury amenities, from the Twiga's imperial tent for "€1,500 a day" to the exclusive area at the Cinque Vele Beach Club in Pescoluse "which for August 16th costs €940." The Consumers' Union points the finger at "the high cost of living," but notes that "beach resorts, swimming pools, and gyms rose 3.7% in July in just one month, placing them sixth in the top ten for economic increases. This figure parallels the increases in holiday villages, up 15.7%, and package holidays, which ranked first with an astronomical increase of 16.1%. And Assoutenti points the finger at the crazy pricing policies adopted by beach resort operators who "have not lowered their price lists following the pandemic-related price increases and high bills."

A "superficial and misleading" interpretation , according to FIBA President Maurizio Rustignoli. "The increases, where they have occurred, are around 4-5%, very low percentages. Daily costs between €40 and €60 for a beach umbrella and two loungers are still being discussed, but for standard services, including security and water surveillance, the figures range from €18 to €30." But in the background remains "the great uncertainty that has weighed on the beach industry for ten years: entrepreneurs are being forced to invest without knowing their future."

For Santanchè, "talking about a tourism crisis in August is alarmist and misleading . The first two summer months saw Italy at the top of the Mediterranean tourism market, both in terms of online travel agency saturation rate and price competitiveness, with 48% saturation in June and over 43% in July, on the one hand, and an average rate lower than competitors like Greece and Spain, on the other." The sector, says the minister, "is doing well, with "plus" signs in many categories, but more and more tourists are choosing the "shoulder months," such as the first four months of the year.