Catania: culture or tourism? Businesses call for strategies to boost the city

Catania: does culture drive tourism or vice versa?

Local companies and trade associations are debating which lever should lead the recovery: cultural enhancement of the city or targeted policies to attract visitors. The candidacy for Italy's Capital of Culture is seen as both an opportunity and a test for local strategies.

Business groups point to rising airfares, international uncertainty and a perception of risk as factors affecting arrivals. Many identify the core challenge as building a tourism mindset that turns heritage and services into sustainable, economically viable offers.

• Cultural cashback: a CNA proposal to grant discounted tickets at municipal sites to visitors who pay the tourist tax, aiming to boost site access;
• Presence at fairs: calls for institutions and operators to attend the TTG trade fair in Rimini to promote Catania on national and international markets;
• Investment in data: allocate part of the tourist tax to systems for collecting visitor data and feedback to guide targeted interventions;
• Focus on domestic tourism: promotional measures and packages aimed at Italian visitors while international flows recover.

Recorded visits to municipal sites between 8 December 2025 and 6 January 2026 are modest: 2,408 at the church of San Nicolò La Rena, 1,542 at the Vincenzo Bellini Museum and 418 at the former Santa Chiara monastery. Some sites, such as the Roman amphitheatre and Giovanni Verga's house, lack updated figures or remain temporarily closed for maintenance.

For local operators the Capital of Culture bid can be a catalyst but not a pretext: coordinated policies, investment in cultural products and a promotion strategy centered on quality and data collection are needed to measure and enhance cultural tourism's benefits.