South Tyrol's tourism is booming: record summer despite a decline in German guests!

South Tyrol's tourism is booming: record summer despite a decline in German guests!

South Tyrol can look back on an extraordinary summer in 2025. A total of 20.71 million overnight stays were recorded between May and September, an increase of 2.5 percent compared to the previous year. This is around 500,000 additional overnight stays, as the national statistics institute Astat announced on Monday with its September data. Interestingly, although October is still statistically part of the summer half-year, it is already considered part of a record summer.

The development among international guests is particularly noteworthy: with an increase of 26.3 percent by almost 700,000 overnight stays, they significantly influenced the overall figures. Guests from the USA and Asia in particular show great interest in the region and its sights. Although the country of origin Germany still accounts for the largest share with 9.58 million overnight stays after a decline of 3.5 percent, German visitors show a decreasing trend. In contrast, Italian guests recorded an increase to 6.17 million overnight stays, an increase of two percent.

Regional tourism on the rise

In 2024, South Tyrol set a new record with a total of 37.1 million overnight stays, which corresponds to an increase of 2.6 percent compared to 2023. The number of arrivals was 8.7 million, an increase of 3.3 percent year-on-year. August 2024 was particularly outstanding, with more than 6 million overnight stays, which is considered a new record for this month.

The origin structure of the guests shows clear differences: While the Burggrafenamt is dominated by German guests, Italian holidaymakers prefer to stay in the Pustertal. Hospitality businesses accounted for 72.9 percent of overnight stays, while non-hospitality businesses such as Airbnb and campsites made up the rest.

Infrastructure and bed availability

In 2024, a total of 253,592 beds were available in 11,918 companies in South Tyrol. This corresponds to an increase of 4.2 percent compared to the previous year. The number of accommodation establishments grew by 1.3 percent. Bolzano recorded the largest increase in the number of beds with an increase of 6.1 percent, but a slight decrease in the number of establishments of 0.6 percent. The Pustertal offers the largest number of beds with 76,703 beds, which corresponds to 30.2 percent of the total supply.

The occupancy rate of the beds varied: on average it was 39.9 percent in 2024. Hospitality establishments achieved an occupancy rate of 46.1 percent, while non-hospitality establishments only achieved 29.4 percent. The occupancy rate of 5-star hotels is particularly striking at 67 percent, followed by 4-star hotels, which recorded an occupancy rate of 58.6 percent.

ASTAT offers a comprehensive overview of tourism developments, analyzing the entire calendar year for the first time in order to better capture year-round tourism and long-term trends. Further information on these developments is provided swz.it and rainews.it.