The Ferragosto holidays 2026 are worth 18.5 billion euros, but one billion will only be needed to cover the increase in fuel costs. In August, 17 million Italians will set off on a trip: 10.6 million adults and 6.4 million teenagers and children. This is according to the Confcooperative Study Center in the consumption forecast report.
The car remains the preferred means of transport for six out of ten people; they are burdened by the high fuel prices which, since the outbreak of the conflict in the Middle East, have caused increases in gasoline and diesel prices.
However, the stability of consumption hides 8.9 million Italians who will instead stay at home. For more than one in two people, the renunciation depends on economic difficulties.
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A week costs 2,750 euros
The average expenditure of a family for one week in August reaches 2,750 euros, 15% more than in 2025. For a family of four, during the Ferragosto week, the total bill can rise up to 6,820 euros, 5% more than last year.
Catering and accommodation facilities absorb about 10 billion euros, more than half of the expected expenditure. Tourism therefore continues to drive significant consumption but requires an increasing economic commitment from families.
Among those who will stay in Italy, the sea retains a large advantage and gathers 62% of preferences; the mountains rise to 28%, with a 6% increase compared to 2025 driven by the search for lower temperatures; art cities and farm holidays share the remaining 10%.
Filling up costs up to 22 euros more
The increase in fuel prices weighs because the car remains – by a large margin – the most used means to leave and move during the holidays. Compared to 2025, a diesel fill-up will require 22 euros more; for gasoline, the increase will be 15 euros.
Multiplied by millions of trips, the price increase leads to an extra overall expense of one billion euros. An amount that not only reduces the money available for restaurants, hotels, and tourist activities but also makes it more difficult for families with lower spending capacity to travel.
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Almost nine million stay at home
The clearest data comes from those who have to give up holidays. The 8.9 million Italians who will not leave show a country divided between those who manage and choose to absorb price increases and those who decide to give up the summer trip.
“Tourism confirms its centrality in the Italian economy, but the data also give us the image of a polarized country,” says Maurizio Gardini, president of Confcooperative, “because alongside a part of the population that maintains spending capacity, a segment of Italians excluded even from holidays emerges.”
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