ROME, Aug. 15 (Xinhua) -- Italy's traditional Ferragosto holiday this year, which falls on Aug. 15 -- the official peak of the summer holiday season -- is being marked by record numbers of tourists and record-high temperatures.
The Italian tourism sector is recovering from its low point during the COVID-19 pandemic. Media reports say that international tourist arrivals this year are expected to surpass an all-time record of around 96 million set in 2019.
Additionally, because of slow economic growth and high inflation, statistics show that more Italians are choosing to stay in Italy for their holidays rather than to travel abroad.
The most recent data from Italy's National Institute of Statistics showed the Italian economy contracted by 0.3 percent in the second quarter, while prices were 5.9 percent higher in July than they were a year earlier, far above historic norms.
Together, the factors combine to produce an estimate of 442 million tourist nights spent in Italy this year, a record high according to a study by the Demoskopika market-research institute.
As with most years, the Ferragosto holiday will be the peak for those numbers.
The surge in tourists this year comes amid a long and intense heatwave. In July, temperature records were set in multiple Italian cities and at one time, more than 20 of the country's 27 largest cities were under red alert, meaning the heat presented significant health risks even to young and healthy individuals.
On Tuesday, the number of cities under red alert dropped to three, but weather forecasts said the heatwave would remain for most of Italy until at least the end of the month.
In Rome, tourists were out on Tuesday despite the hot weather.
"One year, I spent Ferragosto in Spain and another year I went to London," Antonio Bassi, 41, a waiter in Rome, told Xinhua while visiting Rome's San Paolo neighborhood with two siblings. "This year I'm staying close to home, but that doesn't mean I can't go out to be a tourist."
Anna Luisa Mazzola, a 31-year-old high school teacher and mother of two visiting Rome from Rieti, had a similar view. She carried an umbrella to protect her and her kids.
"You can't stay at home on August 15," she told Xinhua. "Whether you travel far or not, it's vacation time." ■