Holidays, many Italians have not yet booked. Uncertainty and the desire to save prevail

Many Italians are still at sea when it comes to planning their next summer vacation . This is clearly stated in the data from a market survey conducted by Maiora Solutions at a national level, conducted on a sample of 800 respondents, through online interviews. The sample is representative of the Italian population, in terms of geographic distribution and age.

Indecision

The indecision that still affects many Italians at the end of May is evident in the answers to the question: will you take a vacation in 2025? If so, what kind?

35% of respondents do not have vacations as a priority, among those who still do not know if they will go or those who have already decided not to: in fact, specifically, 24% of interviewees answered "I don't know yet", 6% will not go on vacation and 5% have not planned any vacation at the moment.

26% have decided to take just one long vacation (7 or more days), 25% a long vacation and a few weekends, 13% are planning two or more short vacations.

This year, 60% of respondents at the end of May have not yet booked , although 24% say they are ready to book by June, 7% by July, a similar percentage will book last minute. 22% still do not know.

So if uncertainty prevails at the moment, it cannot be ruled out that, in the coming weeks, Italians will dissolve their reservations and book their summer holidays, also considering the data for 2024: last year, in fact, 81% of those interviewed said they had gone on holiday .

The costs

The budget to be allocated to holidays highlights the choice of most of the interviewees to keep expenses as low as possible .

53% say they want to spend less than 1000 euros per person, while 20% between 1000 and 1500 euros. Above this amount, 9% have a budget between 1500 and 2000 euros and 7% can spend more than 2000 euros. The remaining participants in the survey did not give any indication of spending.

Destination, booking, means of transport

Italy is the preferred destination for 68% of those interviewed , while only 22% chose abroad for their holidays.

As for the destination, with multiple answers, the sea remains the preferred landing place for 60%, followed by cities of art (21%), mountains and nature (17%), bike or camper (3%), cruise (3%).

Significant is the 8% who choose group travel as their vacation: a figure that expresses a trend of recent years.

The analysis on the type of booking, with multiple answers, indicates that 48% used online portals such as Booking and Airbnb, 28% preferred to do it through the websites of the facilities, 21% relied on the advice of friends and family and only 11% turned to travel agencies. Finally, 11% used travel apps and social media.

The car remains the main preferred means of transport : 54% of respondents choose it. 26% will travel by plane, 10% by train, 6% by ship or ferry and then by bus, camper and bicycle (also in this case the survey required multiple answers).

Sustainability

Finally, when asked if you would be willing to spend more for a more sustainable holiday , 47% said no, while 24% said they would be willing to do so, “but only up to 5% more”. 19% said “Yes, up to 10% more” and 10% said “Yes, up to 20% more”.

"The analysis - comments Andrea Torassa, co-founder of Maiora Solutions - highlights the common sense of uncertainty that has accompanied us for months, thanks to a complicated general economic context. Many Italians still do not know if they will go on vacation and in general will have a limited spending budget, with Italy as their favorite destination. The main online booking sites, such as Airbnb and Booking, represent the preferred channel for booking, where to look for the right offer, perhaps last minute".