One of the preferred snow routes within the Dolomites: Italy – co-host of the upcoming Winter Olympics
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The Dolomites in Italy still have a while. The mountains have been a preferred destination for lots of the preferred travel destinations in 2025 and may even host the 2026 Winter Olympics, going down next February. Early indications from Visa Consulting and Analytics suggest bookings are up as much as 160% in comparison with last winter.
The Dolomites are co-hosting the 2026 Winter Olympics and booking numbers are increasing
In February and March the games shall be held in Milan and in the vacation resort of Cortina d’Ampezzo, around 400 kilometers away, covering an area of over 8,500 square miles. And as National Geographic says it’s these unique mountains that shall be the main target. Just like the town of Paris did in the course of the 2024 Summer Olympics.
New data from Visa Consulting and Analytics (VCA) shows the region is benefiting just as much as Paris – flight bookings are up 160% in comparison with last winter – with nearly all of these visitors coming from the US, UK and Canada. Visa has been an official partner of the Olympics for 40 years and reports that nearly all of ticket spending on Visa purchases comes from U.S. travelers, followed by Germany, Canada, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and France. Australians currently spend probably the most on their cards, followed by Canada, the USA and the Netherlands.
Where are the Dolomites?
The Dolomites are a component of the Alps in northeastern Italy, but have a novel geology. The Dolomites consist of sunshine gray, fissured mineral rock UNESCO Due to its exceptional natural beauty and unique geomorphology, it was declared a World Heritage Site 10 years ago. There are eighteen of those beautiful peaks in northern Italy, characterised by steep, vertical cliffs and long, narrow valleys.
This time, as a part of the Winter Olympics, a brand new discipline will make its way over these extraordinary Alpine passes: ski mountaineering, also generally known as uphill skiing or “ski mountaineering”.fly over‘, which accurately means sprinting up the mountainside, sometimes carrying skis with skins that provide enough grip for the climb, after which skiing back down.
What are you able to do within the Dolomites?
The resort of Cortina d’Ampezzo and 11 neighboring resorts within the Dolomites make up the Dolomiti Superski, the biggest ski area on this planet, connecting 450 lifts under the identical ski pass in winter and remodeling into 6,200 miles of mountain climbing trails and 250 miles of motorbike paths in summer.
From a tourist perspective, there’s something for everybody. The resort of Arabba is a preferred spot for fans of glacier skiing as a result of its location at 2,511 meters above sea level. Or go to Castelrotto to the biggest alpine pasture in Europe. If you are a foodie, the Alta Badia resort’s restaurants have a Michelin star for every of its 172 residents. There are also seven nature parks within the region.
The Dolomites are also home to the 105-mile Camino Retico mountain climbing trail, which winds through alpine villages, mountain lakes and ancient Rhaetian history. The Raetians were the Alpine tribal groups who lived in parts of Switzerland, Austria and northeastern Italy within the pre-Roman period.
Cortina d’Ampezzo, where much of the Olympics takes place, has long been a really stylish meeting place for Italians. It’s an upscale resort surrounded by limestone cliffs that turn pink at sunrise and sunset.
The Dolomites and overtourism – a victim of its own success?
The Dolomites have been on every must-see travel list in 2025 from Bloomberg to the BBC, and these mountain resorts could also be feeling the pressure of overtourism – one ski resort is introduced a limit on the variety of skiers on the slopes in the course of the ski season. Madonna di Campiglio is limiting day passes to simply 15,000 skiers, as a substitute of the same old 23,000. Initially, the cap will only apply between December 28, 2025 and January 5, 2026 and in the course of the annual Italian Carnival (February 15-22, 2026), however it highlights the increasing need to reply to overtourism in crowded European resorts.
The Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026, as they’re officially called, will happen within the Dolomites and Milan from February sixth to twenty second, 2026, and the Paralympic Winter Games from March sixth to fifteenth, 2026.
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