Sanremo and Macau are not so different as people may think. Tourism diversification is one of factor that ties those two distant places. There is a persistent misconception surrounding Sanremo’s collective image: the idea that the city lives and breathes almost exclusively for one week each year. The Festival, of course, remains the symbolic and media heart, but data collected between late 2025 and early 2026—just before the most recent edition of the Sanremo Festival—tell a more interesting story, one that is useful for reflecting on the future.

Today, Sanremo is no longer just a destination tied to a single event, but a hybrid one. A minority of visitors come primarily for cultural events, while the majority choose the city for relaxation, holidays, and leisure. This does not diminish the Festival’s value, but places it within a broader ecosystem where the sea, climate, quality of life, and daily rhythm matter just as much as the Ariston stage.

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Why do people choose Sanremo?

For years, Sanremo’s strength was thought to lie in concentration: a peak of attention, attendance, and spending. Instead, a different trajectory emerges—one of distribution and continuity. Tourists don’t come only “to see,” but to live. And above all, they stay: many remain more than a day, and a significant share extend their visit for several days. This is not hit‑and‑run tourism. It is short‑term, but meaningful, permanence.

And when they stay, they spend—on restaurants, shopping, experiences, and excursions—shaping the most dynamic part of the tourism economy. Gambling and the casino, once central to the city’s image, now appear more marginal.

Visitors perceive Sanremo as having a strong cultural and musical identity, but they also value the variety of its offerings. Cultural events are important, but not exclusive; their strength lies in being part of a broader mix. The consensus is clear: cultural initiatives make Sanremo more attractive than destinations focused solely on gambling.

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Are cultural events the reason Sanremo is a sought‑after destination?

The winning model is not extreme specialization, but balance. Yet enthusiasm remains measured—positive, but not overwhelming. The challenge is to transform appreciation into lasting desire.

Visitors recall the sea, the light, the historic center, surrounding villages, and hospitality. They describe sensations, not just events. This is both an advantage and a risk: diffuse emotional capital can become indistinct if not narrated and organized.

The question is no longer whether the Festival is important—it is, and will remain so—but how to transform its symbolic power into everyday experience. How to extend the energy of one week across twelve months. How to ensure the city’s story does not end with a televised image.

One promising option is international partnerships. The dialogue between Sanremo’s Casino and Macau’s Galaxy Entertainment Group opens an intriguing scenario: twinning destinations with different but complementary DNA. On one side, a European city with strong cultural and musical identity; on the other, one of the world’s leading hubs of integrated entertainment.

This is not only about attracting flows, but exchanging models—governance, programming, integration of tourism, culture, and hospitality. In this sense, the “sister cities” concept applied to tourism could become a concrete tool for innovation, strengthening Sanremo’s international positioning while preserving its identity.

Smart cooperation with Macau could represent not a change of course, but a coherent evolution: from the city of the Festival to an open, connected, contemporary cultural platform.

The future lies not in “more events,” but in better ones—coherent, integrated with the territory, connecting coast and hinterland, music and gastronomy, tradition and modernity. Above all, it lies in building an identity that is not only recognizable, but desirable.

Sanremo is chosen, yes, but not yet fully desired. And between being chosen and being desired lies the difference between a destination that works and one that endures.

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FAQ

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Further Readings

• First 2026 press review of Italy in Macau and Hong Kong
• International Cities of Gastronomy Fest 2026: Macau’s good taste on the spotlight with UNESCO
• Visit to the 2026 MGM Events and Celebrations Open House in Macau: Behind-the-Scenes