Tourism in South Tyrol is booming: records and surprising trends!

Tourism in South Tyrol is booming: records and surprising trends!

South Tyrol is considered one of the most attractive holiday destinations in Italy, enchanting holidaymakers with its impressive mountain landscapes, delicious wine-growing regions and traditional specialties such as dumplings and Kaiserschmarrn. According to the State Institute for Statistics (ASTAT), tourism development in the region has been booming since 1950. The number of guests rose from around 330,000 in 1950 to over 8.7 million in 2024, which corresponds to a remarkable increase of around 2,500 percent. In 2024, more than 37 million overnight stays were counted, an increase of 1,930 percent compared to 1950, as The West reported.

What is particularly striking is that since 2003 the number of arrivals has grown faster than the total number of overnight stays, which indicates a tendency towards shorter stays. The historic tourism stronghold of Merano, which recorded almost 350,000 overnight stays in 1950, lost its importance in the 1990s when Selva di Val Gardena took over. In the 2000s, Castelrotto set a new record with 1.78 million overnight stays in 2024. In contrast, Neumarkt recorded a decline of 52.2 percent in the number of overnight stays between 1990 and 2024.

Current tourism figures and trends

In the 2022/23 tourism year, over 8.4 million guests were registered in South Tyrol who booked at least one overnight stay. The number of overnight stays exceeded the 36 million mark for the first time. The region has 11,747 accommodation establishments offering a total of 241,624 beds. Demand remained stable, with 10.6 million overnight stays from domestic guests, while bookings from Germany increased to 17.4 million. This shows the continued popularity of South Tyrol among foreign tourists South Tyrol News reported.

The data also shows an increase of 9,438 beds compared to the previous year. Of the total available beds, 64 percent are in hospitality businesses and 36 percent are in non-hospitality businesses, with the highest number of beds being found in three-star businesses. Despite a slight decline in overnight stays in summer of 1.1 percent, winter has seen a notable upswing with an increase of 19.2 percent, particularly in the regions of Bolzano, Pustertal and Salten-Schlern, all of which are benefiting from healthy growth.

Demographic and economic aspects

The visitor demographics show a strong increase in guests from Asia, the USA, Slovenia, Poland, the Czech Republic and the UK. Guests from Africa and Luxembourg recorded the longest stays, while German tourists stayed an average of 4.8 nights. Tourism has developed into an important economic factor in South Tyrol, which is also reflected in the quality of the services offered. The region's quality index, which is currently 4.3, indicates steady improvement.

Finally, it should be mentioned that despite the records and flourishing tourism, there are also challenges. For example, an explosion in the price of toilet paper caused discontent among guests. This illustrates the complex economic relationships and the need to keep an eye on the satisfaction of holidaymakers.