Italy, historic -1.1% decrease in August

"For the first time in the history of Italian tourism" in August tourist reservations in hotels decreased 1.1%, with a -3% of Italians and +2.1% of foreigners, said Bernabo' Bocca, the president of Federalberghi which groups Italian hoteliers, commenting monthly data released by the federation. "The trend of tourism in Italian hotels in July and August this year (compared to the same period in 2011) shows a two-speed result", said Bocca. "July showed an overall decrease of 5%, with -8.9% Italians and a 0.2% of foreigners". July and August together recorded a -6% in Italians and +1.1% in foreigners. The negative trend was most significant in the summer but started at the beginning of this year. In the first eight months of 2012, compared to the same period in 2011, tourist reservations decreased 2.6% with a -5.6% of Italians and a +1.2% of foreigners. The evolution, indicated Bocca, led to a decrease of 10% of revenues in the sector "due to a 3-year price freeze and to tariff policies which are difficult to sustain". The decrease in reservations also had repercussions on employment: in the first eight months the sector lost 2.6% of jobs compared to the same period in 2011. The decrease is "generalised" said Federalberghi and concerns a -2.8% of long-term employees and a -2.5% of short-term jobs. Federalberghi also stressed the difference in results between northern and southern Italy. Among the regions with better results were Campania (+2.4%) and Sicily (+0.6%) in the south, followed by the northern Veneto region (+0.2%). Emilia Romagna, centre, and Trentino alto Adige in the north remained stable while the most significant decrease was registered in Friuli Venezia Giulia (-11,8%), Tuscany (-10,6%), Sardinia (-7,1%) and Puglia (-6%). Also suffering were Piedmont (-4,8%), Liguria (-2,9%), Lazio (-2,8%), and Lombardy (-0,8%).