Milan is no longer a desert in August, as tourists have flocked to the city to spend their holidays there despite the heat. This is demonstrated by hotel occupancy rates, which exceeded 85% over the weekend of August 14-17, accompanied by a rise in room rates.
The high demand extended across the entire Lombardy region, with tourist destinations like its lakes and mountains seeing even higher figures. These areas saw peaks surpassing 95% occupancy during the Ferragosto holiday.
According to Lombardy’s Regional Tourism Assessor, Barbara Mazzali, “These numbers confirm the strength of Lombardy as a destination, capable of competing with Italy’s major tourist hubs thanks to the variety of its offerings: lakes, mountains, cities of art, and even Milan, which continues to attract visitors from all over the world even in mid-August.”
The most popular destinations included the northern area of Lake Como, Lecco, and Valtellina—with towns like Bormio, Livigno, and Aprica—as well as the central and lower parts of Lake Como, which reached an average occupancy of 87%. The lake area near Brescia also saw high occupancy, with rates between 85% and 90%.
Milan itself saw occupancy exceed 85%, with the city also recording the highest average price increases over the weekend.
“We saw a dip at the end of July due to cancellations by American and Asian tourists, but then we fully recovered thanks to new bookings, mainly from Northern Europe, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Poland, and Scandinavian countries,” explained Mazzali. Regarding rates, there was an increase “of between 10% and 20% compared to a month ago.”
The assessor noted that the tourist profile is mostly composed of couples (45%, compared to 30% families), with organized groups and solo travelers making up a smaller share.
A positive aspect is that this represents a form of deseasonalized tourism, not concentrated in a single period. While Italy’s seasonality index stands at 0.56, Lombardy’s is significantly lower at 0.29.
“For us, the arrival of tourists does not depend on good weather or holidays, but is distributed throughout the year, with concrete benefits for communities, operators, and territories,” Mazzali stated. She claimed that “this result is not accidental but is the fruit of a vision started two years ago, when we chose to tell the story of Lombardy not only through its most famous icons but through every corner, every village, every authentic story.”
“Our goal is to normalize tourist flows, maintain Lombardy’s high international competitiveness, and focus increasingly on quality: from hospitality to targeted market promotion. This year’s numbers tell us we are on the right track,” she concluded.