Tourist bookings to Italy this
summer have dropped for the first time in five years, the
Cst-Assoturismo Confesercenti business group said Thursday.
Some 205 million tourists are expected to come to Italy
between June and August, almost two million down, or 0.9%, on
the same period last year.
The drop is among both Italian tourists, down 1.1%, and
international ones, down 0.8%, the small-business group said.
Among the factors behind the drop, it said, were uncertain
weather forecasts.
Another influence was strong competition from other
Mediterranean destinations.
Many of these other designations had been affected in the
past by international tensions, the report said.
Other recent reports have also pointed to a drop in the
summer tourism business.
Consumer group Codacons said Italian prices were too high
compared to those of Spain and Greece.
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