The tourism crisis. Grassi, Confesercenti: "Decline across the country, many Italians missing."
July 23, 2025
The president of the industry association: "We need more planning. We used to complain about hit-and-runs... now we don't even have that."
"There were strong warnings as early as June," according to Confesercenti. Then the Palio, as always, stemmed the haemorrhage, which, once the Festival was over, appeared grim: tourism in the Siena area is in sharp decline , with percentages hovering around 30 percent. And the alarm was sounded. "Our operators are very worried," explains Filippo Grassi, provincial president of Assoturismo Confesercenti, "especially those who invested in staff, based on last year's data, when the real concern, on the contrary, was finding them. Staff who must be paid, even in the face of reduced revenue, with an inevitable increase in costs."
"The dramatic decline affects the entire region," Grassi continues. "Because we don't have access to the sea, the high temperatures certainly have an impact, but even on Mount Amiata, for example, the situation isn't idyllic: there are no Italian tourists, although there are a few more foreigners. But these are still visitors who come and go, leaving nothing behind. The low influx of Italians is related to lower spending power; the decline of foreigners is mainly due to the uncertainties arising from international tensions." Overall, there are other factors as well.
"We definitely need more planning," explains Grassi, "so that operators can rest easy. And we need more attention to infrastructure, such as high-speed rail. We've been hearing about it for years, but so far the talk hasn't been followed up with action. We need more connections. Tourism is made up of many components: if you lose 30 percent of hotel bookings, you also lose other services, such as car rentals, etc.." It's a shame, considering Siena and its surrounding areas offer so many excellent services. "Take the Via Francigena for example: wasn't it supposed to be the Jubilee year? The route passes through many municipalities in the area, a unique opportunity for slow tourism and cycling. Yet there hasn't been an increase in visitors."
"For September-October," concludes the provincial president of Assoturismo Confesercenti, "hoping that no further episodes of international conflict occur, we hope to return to last year's figures. We complained about hit-and-run tourism, now we don't even have that."
La Nazione
