Over ten million Italians are expected to take advantage of this year's spring breaks, centered on the Liberation and May Day holidays, spending some three billion euros, sector sources said on Wednesday.
Both holidays come towards the end of the week and will offer a chance for Italians to take a long weekend without using up much vacation time.
An estimated 5.25 million Italians are expected to take off from Friday, April 25, through Sunday, compared to 4.35 million last year, or some 11.1% of the adult population.
According to the national association of hotel operators Federalberghi, 85.4% of those leaving their homes will stay in Italy, up from 81.9% in 2007, while the remaining 14.3% will go abroad, as opposed to 18.1% last year.
The seaside will attract most of those staying in Italy, followed respectively by the mountains, art cities, lake regions and the spa towns.
Some 35% of those taking a break in Italy will stay in hotels, while 25% will stay in their holiday homes, 14% with friends or relatives and 6.9% in the increasingly popular holiday farms.
Italians taking advantage of the long Liberation Day holiday are expected to spend an average 329 euros a day each for transport, food, lodging and entertainment, up slightly from 323 euros last year, for a total of 1.73 billion euros.
For this spring break, 23.5% of Italians used the Internet to make reservations and travelling arrangements, 13.8% reserved rooms by phone and 13.4% went through travel agencies.
The May Day holiday, which starts on a Thursday, will see some 4.9 million Italian adults taking off, down from 5.3 million last year, or 20.4% of the population.
Sector observers said the decline, despite it being a longer long weekend, was due to fewer Italians going abroad this year.
In fact, 91.9% of Italian holidaymakers will stay in Italy, compared to 89.2% in 2007.
The sea will again be the preferred destination for the majority of those taking a long spring break, more than twice the number of those opting for the mountains.
Per capita spending during the May Day break has been estimated at 250 euros a day, up from 230 euros last year, for a total of 1.22 billion euros.
No data was available for those lucky Italians who will join the two breaks together for a 10-day holiday.
