Boom of private flights from the USA to Olbia airport
The Costa Smeralda is becoming one of the most popular destinations for luxury travellers in the US. The summer of 2024 confirms this trend with a significant increase in private flights to Olbia-Costa Smeralda airport.
Flights from the United States
According to the analysis of UniOlbia Communication and Studies Center, in the first 20 days of July, the airport of Olbia, managed by Geasar, received private flights from Los Angeles, New York, New Jersey and Washington. Here are the details of the links monitored through Flightradar24 and FlightAware:
Los Angeles-Olbia
- Date: Saturday, 20 July 2024
- Departure: Los Angeles Intl (LAX)
- Arrival: Olbia-Costa Smeralda (OLB)
- Duration: 11 hours and 42 minutes
New Jersey-Olbia
- Date: Tuesday, 9 July 2024
- Departure: Teterboro (TEB)
- Arrival: Olbia-Costa Smeralda (OLB)
- Duration: 7 hours and 34 minutes
New York-Olbia
- Date: Friday, 5 July 2024
- Departure: Westchester County (HPN)
- Arrival: Olbia-Costa Smeralda (OLB)
- Duration: 7 hours and 5 minutes
Washington-Olbia
- Date: Friday, 5 July 2024
- Departure: Washington-Dulles (IAD)
- Arrival: Olbia-Costa Smeralda (OLB)
- Duration: 7 hours and 42 minutes
The most international airport
Olbia-Costa Smeralda airport is the most international airport in Sardinia: here arrives 47% of the foreign passengers who land on the island. And the general aviation of the port during the summer is one of the first in Europe for movements.
The importance of American tourists
The increase in private flights confirms and consolidates the growing attractiveness of the Costa Smeralda as the world’s leading luxury destination, with significant economic and employment impacts for the territory of Sardinia.
American tourists are in fact the ones who spend more, according to the analysis of Bank of Italy. The average spending per night in Italy sees the US at the top with 184.7 euros, followed by Australians (169.2 euros), Canadians (159.2 euros), Swiss (157.9 euros), British (130.3 euros)The European Commission has published a report on the European Union’s research and development activities in the field of education, French (EUR 129.4) and German (EUR 122.2).
The expenditure of international tourism
According to Banca d'Italia, in 2023 international tourism in Sardinia had a value of 1.7 billion euros. This figure represents a strong increase not only in 2022, the first year after Covid, but also in 2019, the last year before the pandemic. This is a sign that Sardinia and especially Gallura, with the Costa Smeralda, are increasingly popular destinations worldwide.
The role of UniOlbia
The UniOlbia university consortium will continue to monitor these trends, offering in-depth analyses to better understand the dynamics of tourism in Sardinia. These studies are part of the UniOlbia mission: "To guarantee the best university courses in Olbia and offer companies and the territory the professionals of the future".
Training offer in Olbia
Among the degree programs offered, there are Economics and Management of Tourism of the University of Sassari (UNISS) and Naval Engineering of the University of Cagliari (UniCa), which train professional figures capable of facing the challenges of the tourism and maritime sectors.