Lazise Hospitality Growth and Preservation of Lake Garda Tourism Identity
Just under 21,700 beds, with 1,350 spread across 32 hotels and the remaining divided among 12 campsites and 53 residences and private accommodations. This roughly represents the hospitality offer of a town with approximately six thousand inhabitants, which last year saw tourist arrivals rise to over 312,000, totaling nearly two million tourist presences overall.
If we also include those consumed by owners of villas and apartments, the daily average of tourist activity from April to October is about 12,000 to 15,000 presences, with peaks during the busiest months reaching 50,000 to 60,000.
Tourist guide and local initiatives
A remarkable accommodation capacity, summarized in about twenty pages of the new tourist guide printed by the Albergatori Association in collaboration with the Ristoratori Association, the Riviera degli Olivi Tourism Promotion Agency, and the municipal Tourism Department.
The colorful brochure, presented at the Taverna da Oreste, “is the result,” as Mayor Luca Sebastiano clarified, “of cooperation among various trade associations. It represents and highlights the potential of local resources.”
At the same time, the guide serves as a clear message of the image we want to project of our town, which includes musical activities, fashion shows, and events that attract tourists and entertain, in collaboration with operators and volunteers.
A guide that represents an initial effort, stressed Pino Greco, president of the Lacisiensi hoteliers, towards a broader program involving associations: from hoteliers to campgrounds, catering, and commerce.
Development prospects and protection of local identity
“Certainly a way to initiate and move toward creating,” stated Enrico Merenda, president of the Azienda di promozione, “programs in synergy with other Garda municipalities, with the aim of improving the offer and consequently achieving higher quality in the tourist movement.”
Giuseppe Lorenzini, president of the Unione gardesana albergatori veronesi (Ugav), noted that out of approximately two million tourist presences, only 9 percent come from the Lacisiense hotel sector: “an anomaly compared to most other lakeside tourist towns.”
This observation sparked debate about whether or not new accommodation structures should be built on the lake.
It was noted that they are essential for Lazise, which, after the approval of the general variance to its master plan, has plans to construct five new hotels with about 650 beds in total.
“It is important,” Lorenzini emphasized, “to safeguard the Garda tourism identity, which is 75 percent made up of small businesses.”
What is missing is a thorough study to determine the saturation limit of the accommodation capacity, so as to avoid “dying of tourism.”