America’s Cup Preliminary Regatta in Cagliari: Using travel intelligence to measure impact and future opportunities

Context

Growth opportunities

Sardinia is one of Italy’s best-known and most visited coastal destinations, yet its tourism industry remains highly seasonal. Visitor demand is concentrated largely in the summer months, leaving late spring and the period after the summer season with significant growth potential.

High-profile international events, when strategically hosted during these shoulder periods, can help destinations increase visibility while extending tourism demand beyond the traditional peak season.

The Louis Vuitton 38th America’s Cup Preliminary Regatta Sardinia, held from 21 to 24 May 2026 in Cagliari’s Gulf of Angels as the first event on the Road to Naples, provides a clear example of this strategy in action.

Demonstrating the event’s impact, however, required robust measurement. To what extent did the regatta influence air connectivity, visitor spending, arrivals and overall destination perception?

To answer these questions, The Data Appeal Company, in partnership with Mastercard, carried out a comprehensive analysis to identify and quantify the growth generated by the event.

Key objectives

The destination’s challenges

Conducted using the Data Appeal Mabrian travel intelligence platform, the analysis was designed to address several practical challenges facing the destination.

First and foremost, it aimed to measure the event’s contribution to visitor arrivals and local spending.

The insights also help identify the most promising domestic and international source markets attracted by an event of this calibre, enabling the destination to assess their potential beyond the peak tourist season.

In addition, a deeper understanding of these visitor markets supports the optimisation of future marketing campaigns, ensuring resources are targeted more effectively.

Finally, monitoring sentiment among both visitors and residents helps destinations refine the tourism experience, exceed expectations during major events and, at the same time, safeguard residents’ quality of life.

Approach

Why Data Appeal Mabrian

To achieve these objectives, Data Appeal combined several modules from Data Appeal Mabrian with visitor spending data provided by Mastercard.

The Air Connectivity module was used to monitor seat capacity, airfares and key routes serving Cagliari Airport, providing valuable insight into the regatta’s impact across major source markets. During the event week, air capacity increased by 20% year-on-year, driven not only by the domestic market, which remains the largest, but also by growth from France, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Poland and Germany.

Mastercard spending data enabled the measurement of visitor expenditure across the Metropolitan City of Cagliari, segmented by country of origin and spending category. The analysis recorded a 21% increase in spending by domestic visitors from outside Sardinia, led by travellers from Lombardy and Lazio, alongside a 23% increase in spending by international visitors, particularly those from Germany and Switzerland.

Accommodation rates and occupancy levels on Online Travel Agencies (OTAs), captured through the Supply and Accommodation module, also rose significantly compared with the previous year, reaching levels similar to those seen during Italy’s Republic Day holiday period. This underlines the America’s Cup’s role as a powerful demand driver, amplifying the destination’s attractiveness and effectively bringing forward the start of the high season.

Completing the picture, Data Appeal’s proprietary Sentiment Score KPI recorded a strong overall satisfaction rating of 86.8 out of 100, among both visitors and residents. Dining and accommodation received particularly high praise, suggesting that the event further strengthened the destination’s positioning and reputation.

All findings were benchmarked against the same period in 2025, enabling the analysis to distinguish the specific impact of the regatta from normal seasonal trends.

Results

Turning data into actionable strategies

Delivered by the specialist consultants of the Travel Advisory Team using Data Appeal Mabrian, the analysis provided the Region of Sardinia with a robust framework for accurately assessing the regatta’s impact on visitor spending, connectivity and destination perception.

By combining event analysis with spending trends and air connectivity data, the destination can identify high-value visitor markets with a particular affinity for sectors such as sailing and nautical tourism.

From a connectivity perspective, air capacity to Cagliari grew by 20% year-on-year, with notable gains from France, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Poland and Germany. In terms of visitor expenditure, Germany confirmed its position as the most significant international market, accounting for 30% of all international spending during the event week, while Switzerland emerged as the fastest-growing market.

As a result, Sardinia now has a replicable framework for evaluating the impact of future events and for targeting marketing campaigns towards high-potential markets.

Over the longer term, this data-driven approach will support strategic planning and contribute to the sustainable development and promotion of the destination.