The bitter summer of Lake Garda: ‘There are no Italians or Germans, and guests from Northern Europe are staying in campsites.’

12 August 2025

The inevitable repercussions of international crises on the economies of European countries are increasingly affecting people's purchasing power. And when combined with skyrocketing prices (there is talk of a 30 to 50% increase in travel costs), tourism is the first to suffer. “This year's season is not going as well as people would have you believe” is the leitmotif of many traders and business owners.

The change in tourism
"There has been a change in tourism: Germans and Italians are missing, partly offset by more arrivals from Northern Europe. But tourists from the far north are not used to the lifestyle of us Italians or Germans, who have become somewhat similar to them. They don't go out for aperitifs or shopping in shops, they mainly stay in campsites," explains Fabio Pasqualini, president of Confcommercio Bardolino and owner of a Bardolino “empire” of tourist businesses consisting of historic establishments in the town (such as the Cristallo ice cream parlour and the Bardolino café), a perfumery, apartments and guesthouses. 'My German customers tell me that they are also being kept at home by the work being done on the “Europa bridge”, with only one lane open on the Brenner motorway: if the journey from Bavaria used to take five hours, now it takes seven. Even those who have a second home here don't come down every weekend'.

Trade is suffering
In July, the squares and streets of town centres were deserted, and the Gardesana road was free of its usual columns of cars with foreign number plates. 'Trade is suffering much more than other sectors. We estimate a decline of between 10 and 20% compared to last year,' continues Pasqualini. 'And if I look at Booking.com, even in August I find lots of vacancies. Work drops off after 10.30/11 p.m., whereas before it used to last until at least midnight. The lake is no longer as attractive as it once was, with young and middle-aged people not knowing how to entertain themselves after dinner. People keep talking about “overtourism”, making it seem like there are too many people everywhere, but in reality, there are no crowds."

The hotel sector
The hotel sector is also lamenting the decline and expressing concern. ‘We are seeing changes too,’ says Virginia Torre, president of the Lazise hoteliers' association. "Since winter, we have had bookings from regular customers, but there are no last-minute bookings and no one booking a week in advance for the next 15 days. We are not receiving any phone calls or emails with requests. We have 70-80% of our rooms booked, but the remaining 20% are empty. There are very few Italians: they stay for 2-3 days, or just the weekend.‘ Does the price increase have a significant impact? ’Costs and prices have risen too much everywhere. Even to eat a pizza, a family of four, which used to spend £50, now pays double. Foreigners eat early, and in the evening the restaurants are full until 10 p.m., after which you don't see anyone anymore."


The campsites are full
During this first weekend in August, there was still a large crowd of tourists everywhere. At the end of July, Dutch and Danish tourists returned en masse, somewhat compensating for the reduction in German visitors. 'I read in the press and hear from everyone that the season is fantastic. That's not the case, you can say many things in life,' comments Giovanni Bernini, president of Asso Camping, the association that brings together campsites on the Venetian coast of Lake Garda. 'We work hard at weekends, but now people are here and the campsites are full. There was a slight decline until the first ten days of July, but then we recovered. I hear that there is a shortage of bookings from mid-August onwards. I believe that on the lake, as everywhere else, prices have risen too much, and people are paying attention to that."


Read the full article at:  https://corrieredelveneto.corriere.it/notizie/verona/cronaca/25_agosto_05/l-amara-estate-del-garda-mancano-italiani-e-tedeschi-gli-ospiti-del-nord-europa-se-ne-stanno-nei-campeggi-f664bb21-6dbf-4597-a16a-f66ecd544xlk.shtml