Garda Lake Tourism Outlook Post-Easter: Challenges and Opportunities
Disastrous Easter for Limone, but the rest of the Garda Riviera fared well. The first major rehearsal for the 2001 tourist season was therefore passed with flying colors, except for Upper Garda. But this was already predicted, following the forced closure of Gardesana Occidentale just before Riva. A significant handicap, which risks affecting the entire year. The next appointment is the double holiday weekend of April 25 and May 1, another important test for Garda operators. However, they fear the fickleness of the weather, which has been variable so far.
Forecasts and Tourist Influx
Great anticipation for the influx of Germans and Austrians: many might “betray” the mountains – where snow cover remains exceptional – in favor of choosing the lake. In Limone, it was said, people are overall licking their wounds. A wound that, unfortunately, has not healed in two years due to a chain of unfortunate but also predictable events.
“We need to confirm the predictions from the eve of the Easter weekend, which forecasted a 30 percent drop, but it was even worse for campers, who report more noticeable losses: almost 60 percent!”
“The disaster could have been much worse but – continues Gianfranco Montagnoli, president of the Limone hoteliers – our members were prudent in advising tour operators and foreign information agencies to keep tourists until the Desenzano motorway tollbooth and then follow the Gardesana. We also lost passing tourism: and that will weigh heavily on Limone’s economy for the next thirty to forty days.”
“I want to take this opportunity to thank Navigarda – continues Montagnoli – because they increased the routes and their staff showed a strong sense of duty and professionalism: otherwise, we would have been left with hotels completely empty.”
What are your predictions for the upcoming May 1 holiday? “None, because there are very few reservations: I repeat, May and June will be bleak…”
Also quite poor results in Tremosine and Tignale. Better instead in Gardone Riviera and Salò. For Paolo Rossi, the top hoteliers in Brescia and owner of the «Laurin» in Salò, “the weather heavily influenced Easter arrivals, but overall, it went well.” However, he adds, “the weather could hinder arrivals for the upcoming May 1 holiday, which operators are counting on.” Rossi also reports “the precarious state of the Lake Garda road system, which experienced a three-day ordeal during Easter.”
Future Predictions and International Tourism
And what about forecasts for the coming months? “Starting from May 20, there are many reservations, but not before.” A positive note comes from the mass presence of German and Austrian tourists: “Herr Franz” never disappoints. In Desenzano, however, Italians were the main visitors, as assured by Saverio Ziliani, president of the local hoteliers. “Italians? There were many more of them than foreigners. Our hotels were full only on the three days of Easter, and now we hope the weather holds to repeat for the next holiday weekend: because reservations are only for two days.” In contrast, arrivals at Sirmione saw a slight decline compared to Easter 2000.
“Expectations were higher, but we can’t speak of significant declines – says Dino Barelli, president of the hoteliers – what penalized us was the cold and rain. Now, even the bookings for May 1 are influenced by weather forecasts. At Sirmione, we saw more Germans than anyone else, including Italians.” But then, who really benefited? Gardaland. The “number one amusement park in Italy” broke all records.
This was largely due to the bad weather, as entire families, unable to lie on the beaches, preferred to explore the dozens of attractions and the dolphins at the park. Next Monday, April 23, there will be a live TV broadcast from Gardaland during the “TG dei ragazzi” hosted by Tiziana Ferrario.
