2020 has been a singular year for everyone as well as for the Castellana Caves (Ba), but despite the long periods of closure following restrictions to contain the spread of Covid-19, the Castellana karst site has confirmed its position as one of Puglia's main tourist attractions, recording 125.385 total admissions in approximately six months of operation, with an almost entirely national audience (87,09% of total visitors were Italian) and with admission revenues of over 2 million euros.
These figures are not comparable to previous years, but they do suggest the potential of a 2020 that started very well in January and February, when there was already a significant increase in visitors compared to the same period in previous years, before the start of the spring lockdown.
The response, even in a 2020 marked by restrictions, was excellent for special activities such as Speleonight visits and the annual appointment with the Sirio Astronomical Observatory, as well as for the "Hell in the Cave" show, which attracted 3.702 spectators despite the limited capacity compared to the past.
To make public the numbers that characterised last year, with the aim of giving a signal of positivity and hoping for a return to normality as soon as possible, the Board of Directors of Castellana Caves srl, composed of the president Victor Casulli, from the vice president Francesco Manghisi and the councilor Monica Di Monte, together with the mayor Francesco De Ruvo and to the tourism councilor of Municipality of Castellana Grotte Illa Sabbatelli.
Despite the challenging times, we can look at the 2020 data positively. The Castellana Caves closed the year with a positive balance, thanks in part to the renewed agreement with the municipality. Mayor De Ruvo commented – We hope to soon return to normality so we can welcome tourists back and allow them to admire our beautiful caves."
The pandemic arrived at a time of positive trends, with significant numbers being recorded. This is demonstrated not only by the record number of visitors in 2019 but also by the number of tourists who had already expressed interest in our karst site between January and February 2020. – announced the Board of Directors of Grotte di Castellana srl – Our hope for 2021 is to be able to restart with the same momentum as that period, thanks also to the implementation of a safety protocol that has proven more than effective, as evidenced by the monitoring of workers at the end of the summer season, whose serological tests were all negative.”
The data from web monitoring analyses and the media coverage given to the Castellana Caves in 2020 are also significant: 1.434.346 related Google searches, 502.460 total views of the official Instagram profile content throughout the year, and an average of 14.803 people reached daily through the Facebook page from July to September. These are just some of the data on the karst site's visibility over the past year, in addition to appearances or mentions on national television programs.
