WHY ITALY, WHY NOW
A country everyone wants a piece of and a coast that is opening up
Understand the appeal of Italy and the changing landscape of its beach concessions, before you look at a single tender.
For decades, the same holders. Now, open tenders
Italian beach concessions were renewed again and again, often within the same families. European rules require public concessions to be assigned through open and fair competition.
Towns must now put their beach concessions out to public tender and launch those tenders by 30 June 2027. Each tender then sets its own application deadline, often much earlier.
A concession grants the use of public land for a set number of years. It is not a purchase of property.
Italy is 0.2% of the world’s land
Everyone wants a piece of it
Source: World Bank, land area
61
UNESCO World Heritage Sites, more than any other country
Source: UNESCO, 2025
57.7 million
international arrivals: a top-five destination
Source: UN Tourism, 2024 data
€643.2 billion
of Made in Italy goods sold abroad in a year
Source: ISTAT, exports 2025
4th of 50
nations in the Anholt Nation Brands Index
Source: Anholt Nation Brands Index, 2025
THE SIZE OF IT
Thousands of kilometres of coast, thousands of concessions
8,300 km
of Italian coastline, about 3,400 km of it beaches
Source: ISPRA
12,166
state concessions for beach clubs
Source: Legambiente on SID data, 2022
42.8%
of Italy’s sandy shoreline is under concession
Source: Legambiente, sandy coast only
FROM THE EU DIRECTIVE TO 2027
How we got here
2006
EU Services Directive
Public concessions must be assigned through open, fair competition.
2021
Council of State
Italy’s top administrative court rules automatic extensions unlawful.
2026
Model tender, draft
The ministry drafts common rules: concessions from 5 to 20 years.
30 June 2027
Tenders launched
The date by which towns must launch their tenders.
30 September 2027
Current concessions end
The end date of the extended concessions.
Source: Decree-Law 131/2024, converted by Law 166/2024 · The 2026 model tender is still a draft and may change
What it means for you
FOR OPERATORS
Beaches that rarely changed hands
Concessions that stayed with the same holders for decades are now open to new bidders. A tender can weigh the technical project heavily: in Rimini, 90 points out of 100.
FOR INVESTORS
A closed market becomes visible
For the first time, the opportunities appear tender by tender, with deadlines and the link to the official tender. Our Italian partner firm can discuss how to take part.