There is a great desire to go on holiday during these winter months, when the search for freedom and open spaces is stronger than ever.
After the stress of the various lockdowns, the countdown to the next summer holidays has now begun, especially for those on boats. This is the trend recorded by Sailogy, the online platform for worldwide boat rentals, with or without a skipper.
“After the turnaround on mountain holidays, which were promised and then banned at the last minute”, says Manlio Accardo, founder and ceo of Sailogy, “our numbers speak for themselves. Italians want to catch up and have already started thinking about the summer, with the possibility of indulging in 2021 in some more leisure, given the restrictions of recent months. The boat holiday, more than any other, is a valid option, not only because it is completely Covid-free, but also because it is less subject to sudden changes of scenery linked to health emergencies”.
One foreign traveller out of three has already chosen Italy for the 2021 summer boating holiday. This trend is on the rise compared to a year ago, when the percentage of bookings already made in this period was around 14%.
But even Italians are already organising to set sail: in these first few weeks of 2021, compared to the same period last year, there has been a 39% increase in average spending on a boat holiday.
In fact, for Italians the Bel Paese is still the favourite destination, chosen by almost two out of three travellers, or 64% of these first bookings. Greece follows with 28% of the preferences, also thanks to the major interventions of the Greek government to revive the fortunes of local tourism, as in the case of vaccination campaigns on some islands. Croatia closes the podium, thanks to its coastline full of inlets and ravines that make it an ideal place to explore by boat.
“The presence of bookings from abroad already in these early months, with a percentage that exceeds even that of last year, in the pre-Covid era, is an excellent sign for Italian tourism. Despite the fact that some countries have been planning tourist corridors for some time and others have planned a more focused vaccination campaign, Italy continues to be perceived as a top destination,” continues Accardo. “All the more reason to return to betting in this field and to support the excellence that is part of it, but also to make destinations safer that this summer, if they are adequately equipped, could really generate significant revenue”.
