In Italy, by car and by staying in a hotel: this is the post-Covid dream vacation.

The key word to get back on the move is safety, which is why abroad can wait. Many will return to travel agents to find tailor-made solutions.

In spite of the pandemic, as summer approaches, many are wondering about the upcoming holidays. The desire to travel of Italians has not diminished, on the contrary, but uncertainty reigns supreme. The Italian Travel Agents Association (AIAV) takes care of making a prediction, which called 700 travelers by telephone the day after the departure of the vaccination campaign.

Ready to leave as soon as possible and, obviously, safely, they would be 81% of Italians. 58% of respondents admit that they will choose an Italian destination, which is considered safer and easier to reach than foreign destinations. 20% still do not have clear ideas and only 7% of the sample venture the hypothesis of a trip to Greece. Great desire to go to the Caribbean or the Maldives. Spain, usually at the top of the list of favorite destinations, was nominated by only 4% of respondents.

Another important finding was the choice of the car as the ideal means of getting around (53% of the sample). As for accommodation, hotels and tourist villages remain at the top with 59% of preferences. Farmhouses and B & Bs follow at a distance. 7% of respondents would choose apartment accommodation. Travel agencies are still a valid help for 41% of those who want to organize their vacation, but 34% are ready to book independently.

Thanks to a scenario that changes day by day between variants and vaccines, the travel sector is also moving “on sight”, albeit with some cornerstones: greater attention to individual needs and expectations, respect for the environment, enhancement of biodiversity. All trends, however, detected before the pandemic to which the issue of security was added. Precisely in reference to this aspect, the interviewees know they can experience a peaceful holiday only through the maintenance of the mask, the social distancing, the regular sanitation of the spaces, the vaccination or the constant monitoring of the health conditions of the staff and the possession of a certificate of negativity not older than 7 days.

Finally, consideration is growing for travel agents who, after having often managed the repatriation of compatriots who were abroad at the outbreak of the pandemic, are now considered important to offer greater security to tourists. True trend setters, travel agents are always the ones who take action to suggest alternative holidays in the name of wellness, sport, contact with nature and exclusivity. Perhaps favoring locations outside the mass tourism circuits and fly & drive solutions to be enjoyed as a couple, with family or with a few friends. All this is echoed by the rediscovery of Italy, in line with the re-evaluation of local tourism that we are learning to know more and more.

Source: di Flaminia Giurato – La Repubblica.