Tourism, the recipe for Garda ‘Sustainability and soft mobility

21 January 2025

‘Lake Garda, blue of Europe’ was exactly 40 years ago the slogan coined by the Garda Community when it was in charge of promoting tourism on Lake Garda at the time. ‘Now it is no longer in our remit, but from our side,’ explained Secretary General Pierlucio Ceresa on Saturday morning, ’the need for Benaco to be promoted in a unified manner in Italy and Europe, creating the conditions for tourists to return to our shores on holiday, remains a priority. How? This was discussed in the Sala dei provveditori in Salò, in the province of Brescia, during the presentation of the research conducted last summer by Otg, the Lake Garda Tourism Observatory, born in 2022 from the collaboration between Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore and the Garda Community.

The Observatory's research
‘Global Tourism and Local Contexts. The role of municipalities in the development of tourism on Lake Garda’ is the title and theme of the survey conducted by the research team led by Professor Valerio Corradi. This work builds on the previous survey on tourism demand conducted in the summer of 2023 and which saw the participation of almost all the lakeside municipalities. The result? Trend data useful for understanding how the local public administrations of the Garda area deal with certain issues posed by tourism that has returned to pre-pandemic levels in profound transformation, capable of generating opportunities for the territory but also of producing criticalities.
In these dynamics, the role played by municipalities is crucial because they are directly called upon to reckon with and manage the impacts of the growth in tourist presences and the activities connected to the tourism chain.
The most significant changes in the last three years since the pandemic? That of the target markets, the nationalities of tourists with an increase in flows from Eastern Europe. Also, the increase in short rentals and ‘hit and run’ day visitors and the average length of stays.

Tourists' demands
Last-minute bookings and proximity tourism are also on the rise. What are tourists asking for now? ‘Soft mobility’, e-bikes, walking and cycling routes, in essence holiday practices, also resulting from rising prices.
Among the issues that should be ‘prioritised by local tourism policy’ we find at the top of the list the protection of the lake's water quality, then that of the landscape and the improvement of local public transport.

Critical issues to be addressed
Among the most important critical issues to be tackled in a ‘unified manner’, in first place, and it could not be otherwise, are traffic and road conditions. ‘The challenge,’ said Garda Community President Mariastella Gelmini, ’is to try to tackle new forms of tourism in a world that is changing, opening up to new realities such as American, Arab, and Chinese tourism. We are moving towards a more sustainable, quality tourism, also rich in knowledge and culture'.


Read the full article in the Arena of 13 January