Over half of the 2026 summer holiday bookings were concentrated in the Southern regions and the Islands but the North is also growing with +24.6% compared to last year. Adrenaline experiences are increasing, but the real surprise comes from tastings (+144.9%) and unusual stays (+109.6%). The way of living and discovering the territories then changes with a predilection for short stays and weekends not too far from home
On one side the sea, the beaches and days on the boat, on the other trekking and walking in the mountains. But also more adrenaline-filled trips such as rafting and canyoning or food and wine experiences such as wine tastings and overnight stays in nature. Many different facets for the summer of 2026 which described the desire of Italians to leave but also a different way of wanting to spend their free time. In a context marked by greater attention to the budget and factors such as climate and international uncertainty, the demand for experiences has not stopped. It has become more selective, personal and transversal, spreading across different activities and territories and rewarding opportunities capable of transforming a holiday into something to experience, remember and share. This is what emerges from the end-of-summer balance sheet of Freedome, the leading platform in Italy for outdoor experiences, which, through the analysis of its bookings, photographs the trends that characterized the 2026 season.
The South and the islands remain in the center, but the North runs
The first transformation concerns the geography of experiences. The South and the Islands concentrate over half of summer bookings (51%) on Freedome, confirming itself as the dominant area of Italian outdoor. However, the North recorded the fastest growth, with +24.6% compared to summer 2025. Among the most dynamic regions, Lombardy (+30.6%) and Campania (+29.4%) stand out, confirming how the demand for outdoor experiences is increasingly transversal, with the sea remaining the protagonist but which, at the same time, is no longer the only possible scenario. Alongside beaches and islands (with Sardinia, Sicily and Tuscany on the podium), however, lakes, rivers, mountains and internal territories conquer space.
Adventure and tastings are growing
The choice of activities also speaks of an evolving sector. Although boat excursions remain the most booked category of the summer, some of the most adrenaline-filled experiences are running fastest: rafting, canoeing, kayaking and canyoning record increases of between 26% and 36%, a sign of a still very strong demand for activities that combine nature, movement and emotional involvement. The most surprising growths of the summer, however, come from experiences of a different nature: wine tastings grow by 144.9%, while unusual stays increase by 109.6%, more than doubling compared to summer 2025. They are experiences that tell a different way of relating to a destination: through its flavours, its stories, the landscape and the atmospheres it is able to offer.
From staycations to getaways of a few days
The strong growth of these activities, especially in Northern and Central Italy, is also part of a travel method increasingly linked to short stays, weekends and proximity occasions. A trend that brings the outdoor world closer to the staycation phenomenon: not necessarily the big holiday planned months in advance, but the possibility of carving out a break, a weekend or a travel experience favoring nearby and easily reachable destinations. A method that leads to rediscovering the territory through what it offers, transforming even a few days or a single day into an opportunity to escape from the routine. Also reinforcing this picture is the time at which experiences are booked, with a significant portion of activities continuing to be booked close to the date. A two-speed behavior emerges: the destination or stay can be decided first, while the "what to do" remains more flexible. An experience can enter the program a few days before, based on the weather, availability or the desire of the moment. The data from the summer just ended, underlined Michele Mezzanzanica of Freedome, tell of "an outdoors that is less and less confined to the concept of summer holiday and more and more present in the way in which people constantly choose to experience an area and their free time".
