The extension of concessions to 2024 has been rejected, the price increase alarm goes off: forecasts estimate increasingly higher prices for beach establishments
A new hot summer is expected, and not only as regards the climate: with the expiry of state concessions for beaches, estimates speak of new increases in terms of prices of bathing establishments. How much will it cost to spend a day at the beach? The prospects are not at all rosy. Here’s what the first statistics reveal.
Beach establishments, the new price increases for 2024
The Council of State rejected the extension to 2024 of state concessions for beaches, which therefore expire on 31 December 2023: this means that the tender procedure to assign the new concessions has begun, with effects that will not be long in coming. Second Federtaxpayersthe beach resource is scarce and this will negatively influence not only beach activities, but also prices for end users.
In short, managers will have to pay more to be able to win a state concession again and, consequently, the costs of renting umbrellas, sunbeds and cabins in a beach establishment during next summer will increase. “It is almost mathematical that an increase in the cost of concessions will impact the price of the services offeredand therefore on consumers” – we read in a note from Federcontribuenti.
The alarm was also raised by Codacons, according to which beach operators have threatened possible increases of up to 50% for the rates applied by Italian establishments. It’s all the fault of the increases in concession priceswhich are added to those already recorded in recent years, during the Covid period.
According to some Codacons estimates, in fact, the adoption of safety measures to contain the pandemic, theincrease in energy costs and inflation have pushed the price lists of Italian beaches to adjust – upwards – prices by 30% or 40% on average, compared to 2019. All this is reflected in thefinal userwho have to spend much more to spend a day at the beach.
The prices of the bathing establishments
THE price lists of bathing establishments for 2024 they haven’t been made public yet, but just take a look at last year’s prices to understand what awaits us. The 2023 summer season saw record increases in beaches, often impacting families who were forced to renounce or to reduce their stay at the seaside.
Based on the data collected by Codacons, last year we spent on average between 30 and 35 euros a day to rent an umbrella and two sunbeds in a standard establishment, during the weekend. Of course, the cost also depends greatly on the area. More popular seaside resorts such as Viareggio and Rimini had an average of 40 euros per day, which increased to 60 euros in some areas of Sardinia.
In the beach establishments of Gallipoli you could easily reach 80 euros. But it was enough to raise the bar a little and choose higher level beaches to quickly touch the 120 euros per day. The highest prices? Rent a hut or tent in exclusive locations such as the Costa Smeralda, Forte dei Marmi and the Lido of Venice (we’re talking about around 500 euros per day).
To the Twiga, Flavio Briatore’s famous Versilian beach club, an Arab tent reached 600 euros a day. But the real record went to the plant Le Cinque Vele Beach Club of Marina di Pescoluse, in Salento: a front row seat cost no less than 1,010 euros per day.
