Tourists heading to Siracusa have faced a sharp setback after the Etna eruption forced the closure of Catania airport on August 6, prompting a study that estimates direct losses between 6 million and 8 million euros for the local tourism sector.
Scale of the financial hit
The estimate comes from a report by the CNA study centre, which surveyed tourism businesses across the province. Respondents indicated that 57 % saw a drop in new bookings even after the airport reopened, suggesting lingering effects beyond the immediate shutdown.
According to the questionnaire, firms collectively lost about 3,200 customers, reservations and services that could not be recovered, even after some travelers were rerouted through Comiso, Palermo or alternative transport modes.
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Restaurants emerged as the most impacted segment in absolute terms, followed by hotels, tourism services and extra‑hotel accommodations. The analysis projects the impact onto the 1,761 businesses registered in the hospitality, extra‑hospitality and catering sectors by Unioncamere‑InfoCamere.
Only a portion of those enterprises—estimated between 40 % and 55 %—were assumed to have suffered the reported damage. The calculation deliberately excludes over 5,500 short‑term rentals that operate outside the formal business registry, as well as indirect effects on related industries.
Longer‑term booking slump
Nearly two‑thirds of respondents said their performance before August 6 had been better than the comparable period in 2025, indicating that the eruption interrupted a season that was already on an upward trajectory.
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While the study stops short of a precise measurement, the cautious approach reflects uncertainty about the full scope of lost revenue, especially as many bookings remain in flux.
Calls for a backup airport
Rosanna Magnano, president of CNA Siracusa, stressed that “these numbers confirm we can no longer afford to treat every emergency as an unpredictable event. We must plan structural solutions, enhancing the Comiso hub through a reallocation of existing and new infrastructure investments, both road and rail, to give the province a genuine operational alternative in a crisis.”