How do big matches impact the city’s tourism? What type of tourists does the Europa League bring? Starting from the quarter-finals with Atalanta-Liverpool, the effect is decidedly impactful. The data collected by Confcommercio Bergamo from Confcommercio’s Cities Mobility Analytics platform, structured as part of the Cities project, highlights the match tourist fever. A system for monitoring the presence of citizens, commuters, residents and tourists based on the data generated by the 4G and 5G mobile network detected by Wind3, which is its partner.
On Thursday 9 May, the day of Atalanta – Olympique Marseille, the center of Città Bassa intercepted 5,655 more people than on the same Thursday of the previous week. The clear fact is the presence of the number of French people in the city, which has almost tripled, rising from 1,275 to 3,721, +195% in the lower city center and from 716 to 2,075 in the Upper City, +190%. It therefore confirms that the European matches represent an opportunity to present the beauties of our city also to the tourists of the visiting teams.
The match effect is also felt on the two midweek days and not just on the match day. In the two days – Wednesday and Thursday 8 and 9 May – the presence of French people was 5,233 in the lower city (+175.1% compared to the two days of the previous week) and 1,343 in the upper city (+146.6%) .
Sports and tourism
Many fans, taking advantage of the trip, chose to visit and learn more about the city. By extending the analysis to the Tuesday before the match (7 May) and to the Friday with the weekend following the match (from 10 May to yesterday, 12 May), the match effect tends to decrease, with some fans taking advantage of the trip to stay, but diminishes until it vanishes. Wanting to observe the effect of the match on the center of Città Bassa, on Thursday 9 May there was a growth in foreign visitors of 1,630 units + 10.7% compared to the previous Thursday, but also in national visitors +390 (+16, 4%) and regional visitors +731 (+12.1%). Among these, a good portion may be to some extent connected to the match as spectators or operators.
National and regional Italian visitors and even Bergamo residents in the province do not miss out on a stop in the historic village, who take advantage of the match to visit the Upper Town
In the Upper Town
The effect is completely different for Città Alta, where on the day of Atalanta-Olympique Marseille, only 81 more foreigners registered (+0.8% compared to the previous Thursday), while the presence of provincial visitors was significant: +2,079 +62.2%. This is a sign that foreign fans who arrive in the city for the match rarely go up to the Upper Town, but visit the center of the Lower Town. National and regional Italian visitors and even Bergamo residents in the province do not miss out on a stop in the historic village, who take advantage of the match to visit the Upper Town. The English attendance for Atalanta-Liverpool on 18 April was less impactful: from 17 to 19 April (compared to 10-12 April) the attendance of UK citizens went from 2300 to 3627 in the Lower City and from 1385 to 1923 in the Upper City, with growth of +57.7% and +38.8% respectively. The reduced time dedicated to the discovery of the historic village by the Reds has been confirmed.
Fans in comparison
«The impact of European fans on the city is important – comments Oscar Fusini, director of Confcommercio Bergamo -. That of the Olympique Marseille fans, being the trip more manageable by car and bus, without the English Channel involved and with a fairly reasonable distance, appears decidedly stronger. The match effect is felt almost exclusively on the two days (Wednesday and Thursday) and decreases until it disappears on the following weekend. Atalanta’s challenges do not only determine a quantitative change in attendance in the city but also a qualitative one. First of all, the presence of women, especially foreigners, who are commonly less inclined to travel, is decreasing”.
