For Westerners, a Vacation Is Becoming a Luxury. Holiday Prices in Italy Have Nearly Tripled in 10 Years.

Summer holidays in Italy are changing not because people want them to, but because more and more often they simply can no longer afford to vacation the way they used to.

Climbing Costs

A new study by the Center for Consumption Research (C.R.C.), based on ISTAT data, shows just how sharply the cost of vacations and travel has risen over the past ten years. Some of the figures seem almost unbelievable.

Airline Fares Soar

The biggest surge has occurred in the aviation sector. The cost of domestic flights has jumped by 193%, while tickets to Europe have risen by 187%. In effect, prices have nearly tripled.

Ferries too

But the increases go far beyond air travel. Ferries have become 92% more expensive, hotels nearly 70% pricier, and tourist packages 46% costlier.

Diesel + 61 per cent

Even traveling by car costs significantly more: diesel fuel has risen by 61%, and gasoline by almost 30%.

The cost of living itself while on vacation has also increased. Tomatoes now cost 74% more than they did ten years ago, fresh fruit is almost 40% more expensive, seafood is up by a third, and ice cream by 36%.

Lifetime habits change

As a result, not only are prices changing, habits are too. Ten years ago, Italians most often went away in August for nearly two weeks.

Today, more and more families are opting for short three- or four-day trips, travelling several times per season and trying to schedule their holidays for June, July, or September, when prices are lower.

The choice of destinations has also shifted.

Half the tourists have gone

The proportion of Italians spending their summer vacation abroad has more than halved, from 25.5% in 2016 to 12% last year. Increasingly, people prefer to stay closer to home to save on transportation.

It looks like the era of long August vacations is gradually fading into the past, giving way to shorter trips and a constant search for ways to save money. Let readers know what you think

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