We had to face two particularly difficult years, between confinements and closed borders all over the world, but now tourism has started up again: Too bad the prices have skyrocketed, and the forecast for the winter season is not at all positive. What’s going on?
Winter holidays, rising prices
After waiting so long to be able to travel again, many Italians will not be able to afford it for economic reasons. Several polls, dating back to last spring, had highlighted the great desire of a large part of the population to finally go on vacation again, even at the cost of saved expenses. However, reality quickly confronted us with economic problems that we had not solved. In short, if the summer holidays seemed particularly expensive to us, now that winter is upon us, the situation has not improved at all.
“Prices have gone up a lot. Autumn and winter are still very difficult to read“- explained Pier Ezhaya, general manager of tour-operating of the Alpitour group. The costs have skyrocketed and are unfortunately reflected in a wide range of services: from airlines to accommodation and catering. In short, everything which affects the world of tourism. The main factor is of course the dear energywhich has hit our country hard in recent months – and which, in the cold months, thanks to the need to turn on the radiators, will be felt even more.
The rise in fuel prices has led to an increase in the prices of travel (whether by car, train or plane), as well as those of accommodation structures and everything that revolves around the tourism sector. A problem that could put the ski season in jeopardy: the management of hotels and facilities promises to be particularly onerous, and it is inevitable that this will have an impact on the final rates offered to users. “Probably, at least until spring 2023, low availability of seats e high prices they will continue to characterize the offer ”- said Marco Peci, Commercial Director of Quality Group.
Airline problems
In short, if the summer season had already turned out full of pitfalls for travelers (just think of the countless cancellations, delays and overbookings that have characterized the hottest months of the year), winter will not be left out. Airlines are in trouble: according to experts, a period is ahead of us when flights will be much more expensive and much less frequent. We had seen how now booking at the last minute was no longer advantageous, but also Advance booking – or buying a trip well in advance – has its problems.
There are few people who can afford plan holidays months in advance, especially with the onset of economic difficulties affecting many Italians. This, combined with the high price of fuel, represents a serious obstacle for airlines: it seems impossible to be able to offer passengers closed fares, which are now constantly changing and increasing. All this unfortunately leads to dramatic conclusions. On the one hand, many people will be forced to give up their holidays. On the other hand, operators in the sector will be impacted and the small realities, already tested by the two years of the pandemicrisk of no longer being able to survive.
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