by Nina Vaclavikova
Interview: Maurizio Giudici, president of Federalberghi Trieste
Trieste is heading into one of its busiest periods of the summer, with hotels and other accommodation facilities in the city expected to reach full occupancy for the Ferragosto holiday.
Maurizio Giudici, president of Federalberghi Trieste, said occupancy had risen steadily throughout the week, reaching about 85 percent on Monday and 95 percent by Thursday. The city was expected to reach a full 100 percent occupancy rate for Ferragosto on Friday.
“We are essentially sold out,” Giudici said in an interview. He added that occupancy was likely to ease slightly from Sunday as the first major wave of holiday departures begins, but that overall numbers remained strong.
The surge is part of a broader increase in tourism to Trieste and Friuli Venezia Giulia. Giudici pointed to recent figures from Italy’s Ministry of Tourism that placed Trieste among the country’s leading destinations and highlighted the city as one of the fastest-growing destinations in the region.
The strong summer season is also expected to generate a significant economic impact beyond accommodation, benefiting restaurants, shops, cultural attractions and other tourism-related businesses.
Giudici said the local trend broadly mirrored national tourism figures, although definitive data on the season’s economic impact will only become available after the summer.
A study being conducted by the University of Trieste is expected to provide a more detailed assessment of the economic contribution of tourism to the city and surrounding area.
For now, the Ferragosto weekend offers another indication of Trieste’s growing popularity as a summer destination, with demand for accommodation approaching capacity at the height of the holiday season.
