Even in summer 2021, the Castellana Caves (Bari) confirmed their position as one of Puglia's main tourist attractions, registering over 118 visitors during the summer period, a 32% increase in admissions compared to the same period in 2020.
Many tourists in the region did not want to miss the opportunity to visit the Castellana karst site. In July, 37.474 tourists admired the caves along the tourist route with their unique concretions, a full 60% increase compared to the same month last year. August also saw an increase, with 62.415 visitors compared to 56.086 in 2020.
The Speleonights and the Hell in the Cave show also received excellent feedback. Eight events were originally scheduled for the exclusive tours, some of which take place in the dark with lights and speleological helmets, but 31 actually took place due to overwhelming tourist demand. A total of 681 people attended the special evening tours over the two months.
The 13 performances of Hell in the Cave, however, were all sold out, with two of them added to the schedule to meet the overwhelming demand. Approximately 2600 spectators attended the performance of Dante Alighieri's Inferno in the Caverna della Grave between July and August, leaving themselves moved by the evocative performance.
"It's enormously satisfying to see these impressive numbers. In a year still marked by the pandemic and by market conditions that are anything but simple and normalized, the excellent work done in recent months has borne fruit," commented Victor Casulli, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Grotte di Castellana srl. "Great credit goes to all the staff and workers of Grotte di Castellana srl, who, with dedication and passion, have faced a challenging and challenging period. We are now preparing to face the end of the summer season and the beginning of autumn with serenity and equal focus, with further growth prospects."
Expectations are also high for September in terms of visits and the schedule of performances of Hell in the Cave, with the first two dates on Saturday the 4th and Sunday the 5th already sold out.
