by Nina Vaclavikova
Trieste is expected to close 2025 with approximately 1.6 million visitors, the highest total in its history, according to Maurizio Giudici, the president of Federalberghi Trieste, the city’s hotel association. The milestone marks what he described as “a definitely positive year” for the Adriatic port city, while also raising questions about how future growth should be handled.
“These numbers make us reflect as we approach 2026,” Mr. Giudici said in an interview. “Tourism is growing rapidly, and that requires careful management.”
The increase has been driven by Trieste’s expanding range of attractions, which extend beyond its historic center to include coastal villages, the karst plateau, and borderland communities. Visitors are increasingly venturing north toward Duino-Aurisina, inland into the Carso, and south to the maritime town of Muggia, broadening the geographical footprint of tourism.
At the same time, the city is moving to introduce a higher tourist tax, approved several months ago and set to take effect this week. The measure represents a roughly 50 percent increase — a significant rise compared with national trends in Italy, where similar levies have in many cases been reduced.
According to Mr. Giudici, the decision was made jointly by the municipal administration and local business groups, with the explicit goal of reinvesting the proceeds into tourism services and infrastructure.
“The idea is to support the destination as a whole,” he said. “Trieste cannot be limited to its city center. It has to be understood as a larger territory, from Duino-Orisina to the Karst plateau and down to Muggia.”
As visitor numbers grow, he added, the challenge will be to strike a balance between the everyday life of residents and the expectations of travelers, who increasingly seek what he called “authentic experiences.”
“We have pushed strongly in this direction,” Mr. Giudici said, referring to the role of business groups in shaping the policy. “We need to be extremely careful to create the right balance between the city and the people who live in it, and those who come to visit.”
Beginning in early 2026, Trieste plans to introduce new tools aimed at guiding and supporting tourism development, an effort that local leaders hope will help ensure that record-breaking numbers translate into long-term sustainability rather than strain.
For a city long known more for its literary and imperial past than for mass tourism, the figures now arriving suggest a turning point — one that will require careful planning to preserve what has made Trieste distinctive in the first place.
