Panic in Italy as beautiful seaside towns abandoned by tourists - 'beaches are empty!'

Concerns have been raised about a drop in attendance at Italian beaches, with even a popular film star highlighting the issue. Though the summer season is ongoing, the Italian Beach Operators' Union has put out provisional data indicating that an average drop in attendance of about 15%, and drops as high as 25% in Calabria and Emilia-Romagna (regions in southern and Northern Italy, respectively).

According to the outlet, it's widely recognised that many beaches have appeared semi-deserted, particularly during the week. Simone Battistoni, president of the Beach Operators of Emilia Romagna, said: "June didn't go badly, whereas in July there was definitely a drop," Corriere della Serra reports. "It's a patchy phenomenon; in Rimini it was less pronounced, Ferrara and Ravenna suffered more," he added.

Italian actor and film director Alessandro Gassmann, who appeared in Jason Statham action flick Transporter 2, had his say on social media and suggested the sight of empty beaches in some parts of the country are because the price of visiting them is too high.

"Dear friends who run beach resorts. I read that the season isn't going well. Why do you think that is? Perhaps you've gone a bit overboard with the prices?"

He added: "Lower the prices and things might, perhaps, improve."

Mr Battistoni acknowledged that the answer may be an financial issue, but in the sense that economic circumstances mean beachgoers have less to spend.

"Even when the beaches are full, spending has dropped even though prices have remained practically unchanged," he said.

"If before people came for two weeks, now they only come for one, or they come at weekends and then go home."

The phenonmenon is reportedly seen elsewhere in Italy, in Versilia and on the Lazio or Calabrian coasts.

Giuseppe Aieta, mayor of Cetraro in the province of Cosenza says the "drop in numbers is obvious, but it's been like this for several years now", the Italian daily newspaper reports.

He added: "Traditional seaside tourism is declining. Luckily we make up for it with the marina, 600 berths always full, because it's managed directly by the council and our rates are the lowest in Italy."

However, Italy's minister of tourism, Daniela Santanché, hit back at any suggestion that the tourism sector is in trouble.

"Talking about a tourism crisis in August is alarmist and misleading," she said. "The first two summer months saw Italy at the top of the Mediterranean market, with 48% occupancy in June and over 43% in July on one hand, and on the other hand an average rate lower than top competitors like Greece and Spain."

Gabriele Manella, lecturer in Sociology of Tourism and Territorial Development at Bologna University, also cast doubt on the idea that Italy's seaside hotspots are in crisis.

"It's probably due to several factors: there's an effect from high prices, so many coastal resorts that were once fashionable now suffer more.

"There's also an aspect linked to changes in daily life which mean holidays are shorter than before. And I'd add that there are many more places discovering or rediscovering a tourist vocation; or people are trying out different forms of tourism such as slow or itinerant travel."

But despite the challenges, she added that she would "wait before saying that the Romagna model or others are in crisis".

"The Riviera will continue to be very competitive in future."