The mountains are drawing an ever-growing number of hikers, and refuges are returning to be the protagonists of a way of traveling that is slow, authentic, and far from the most crowded destinations. This is confirmed by data from Prenota Rifugi, the Italian Alpine Club’s digital platform, which in the first half of 2026 recorded about 8,000 overnight stays booked online. A significant result, with bookings rising by roughly 80% compared to the same period in 2025.
More and more hikers are choosing Italian refuges
There are already 150 facilities operating on the portal, including CAI refuges, private refuges, and stopping points along the CAI’s Sentiero Italia CAI. The bookings span a very wide area: from the Dolomiti Friulane and Bellunesi to the Vette Feltrine, from the Monviso area to the Val di Susa and the Valli di Lanzo, passing through Adamello, Val Masino, Appennino centrale, and Gran Sasso.
Interest is growing not only among Italians. In the first half of 2026, bookings from abroad increased by 10%, with Germany, France, the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Netherlands among the main countries of origin. Italian users today represent about 70% of bookings, compared with 80% in 2025: not a drop in domestic demand, but the faster growth of the international audience.
The phenomenon tells of a new attention to the mountains, increasingly linked to multi-day trekking, staged itineraries, and lesser-known territories. The refuge thus becomes an integral part of the journey and not just a stopping point.
The growth in reservations also tells of the evolution of the relationship with the mountains. It is no longer solely about reaching a summit or spending a day immersed in nature, but about slowing down, walking for more days and truly experiencing the landscapes traversed. The refuges become part of this experience: places to stop, recharge energy, and meet other hikers, while preserving the essential character of high-altitude hospitality.
The possibility to organize online the stay thus responds to a growing need: to have greater autonomy in planning, without sacrificing the authenticity of the journey. Digitalization, in this sense, does not replace the traditional refuge experience, but facilitates access to it and allows discovery of areas of the Italian mountains that are less known.
Booking a trek becomes easier
Launched in May 2024, Prenota Rifugi allows you to browse the facilities, check real-time availability, and organize the overnight stay from a computer or mobile devices. The multilingual service enables you to search refuges by name, location, or via an interactive map, making planning easier even for those arriving from abroad.
One of the most appreciated aspects is the ability to combine the availabilities of different facilities to build a complete itinerary. The updated calendar also helps to spread stays throughout the year: when the busiest periods are full, it is possible to steer toward months like June and September, contributing to the de-seasonalization of high-altitude tourism.
Users’ satisfaction confirms the platform’s success: in the last twelve months the portal has earned an average rating of 4.5 out of 5. Among the most frequent requests is precisely the desire to further increase the number of bookable facilities along a single route. A signal of the growing interest in itinerant trekking and in a more mindful, distributed mountain experience, distant from overtourism circuits.
