Northern Italy is gearing up for a massive tourism surge in February, when the Winter Olympics kick off in Milan and Cortina.
The 2026 Winter Olympics are now fewer than 100 days away, and the event has already sold around 850,000 tickets and is expected to draw up to two million visitors.
Beyond local enthusiasm, with seven of 10 Italians interested, the Games, taking place from 6 to 22 February 2026, are proving especially popular among Americans,according to a study carried out by Ipsos for VISA.
The 2025 Winter Olympics will be the first post-pandemic Winter Games. Back in 2022, fewer than 100,000 spectators attended the edition hosted in China.
An analysis of early ticket sales shows that US citizens account for around 35% of all spending by foreign buyers.
Germans lead the European flock with just over 10%, followed by large groups of Brits, Swiss and French winter sports fans with 5% each, according to the VISA study. Canadians come in at nearly 10%.
When it comes to individual spending, however, Australians top the list with an average outlay of €2,600 per carholder, ahead of Canadians (€2,200), Americans (€2,100), and Dutch visitors (€1,300).
Dutch visitors are indeed expected to come in large numbers, with air arrivals to northern Italy expected to rise eighteenfold in February 2026 compared to February 2025.
Canadians will bring the second-biggest year-on-year growth (12x), followed by Germans (almost 5x), Americans (more than 4x), Finns (more than 3x), French tourists (2x) and Brits (more than a third).
In general, foreign air arrivals are expected to soar by 160% compared to the same period in 2025.
Among Italian airports, Milan Linate is set to handle the largest passenger flows, with arrivals up by more than 450%, followed by Milan Malpensa (+190%), Verona (+120%), and Bergamo (+80%).
Closer to Cortina, Venice (+75%), and Treviso (+40%) airports will also see steep climbs of 75% and 40% respectively.
Milan and Cortina will be the main hubs, but competitions will also take place in the Valtellina area and Val di Fiemme, while Verona will host the closing ceremony.
The area concerned will be so vast — 22,000 square kilometres — that the 2026 Winter Olympics will reportedly be the "most dispersed Games" ever.
In the VISA poll run by IPSOS, "90% foresee positive regional impact, including lasting improvements to public spaces, transport, infrastructure and tourism — while 65% view Milano Cortina 2026 as a catalyst for tech innovation".
What's Skimo, the new gruelling winter Olympic discipline?
One of the main novelties among the 116 medal events and 16 disciplines featured will be the Olympic debut of ski mountaineering — also known as Skimo.
Fast, intense, and highly strategic, the sport is a gruelling combination of uphill climbing, technical ascents and downhill skiing, often on natural terrain.
Skimo will feature three events at Milan-Cortina: mixed relay and men's and women's sprints.
"Italy is one of the leading nations in this sport, with several international wins in major competitions over the last 10 years," the organisers say.
In addition, the "thrilling and high-adrenaline" dual moguls will be incorporated into freestyle skiing for both men and women.
It consists of two athletes competing side by side on a bumpy course with two jumps, which they use to perform aerial tricks.
The Games will see the highest women's participation in Winter Olympic history: 47% of nearly 3,000 athletes.
Russians and Belarusians will again compete as "individual neutral athletes".
The Winter Olympics will be followed by the Winter Paralympics, scheduled between 6 and 15 March, which will be the first such event hosted in multiple cities since France's 1992 edition in Tignes-Albertville.