Italy's Emilia-Romagna: flights to Bologna and Rimini from 5 Polish airports

Poland ranks first among foreign markets in terms of growth, and third in terms of the number of tourists and overnight stays, behind Germany and Switzerland and France. 2025 brought a marked increase in tourist traffic in the Emilia-Romagna region. In total, the number of overnight stays exceeded 44 million. Domestic tourism recorded 9 million arrivals, which generated 30 million overnight stays, while foreign tourism reached 4.17 million arrivals (+10% compared with 2024) and 14.1 million overnight stays (+7.9% compared with 2024).

In 2025, the number of arrivals from Poland rose by 20.42% on the previous year to 237,814, while the number of overnight stays rose by 16.17% to 836,866 compared with 2024. Tourism from Poland accounts for 5.7% of arrivals and 5.9% of overnight stays in the region's total foreign tourist traffic.

“The Polish tourism market is showing its huge potential today, as the statistics confirm. In the coming years these numbers will continue to grow, thanks in part to the new air links between our airports and Poland planned for 2026”, stresses Roberta Frisoni, the regional councillor for tourism, sport and commerce.

Rimini, Bologna and non-hotel accommodation

The region's most important tourist area remains the Adriatic Romagna Coast, which recorded 6.3 million tourists and 28.5 million overnight stays. Rimini continues to be the town with the highest number of overnight stays on the entire Adriatic coast: 15.62 million. The art cities recorded more than 4.5 million tourists, with Bologna in first place with more than 3.17 million arrivals and 7.18 million overnight stays. A marked increase was also recorded in the Apennines, where the number of tourists rose by 12.7%.

An analysis of the accommodation structure reveals a clear trend: in many areas, the non-hotel accommodation segment is growing faster than traditional hotels. This is particularly evident in the art cities, where the non-hotel sector recorded the strongest growth (+24.32% in arrivals and +15.87% in overnight stays), while the hotel sector saw more moderate increases (+6.49% in arrivals and +3.66% in overnight stays).

The situation is similar in the resorts of the Adriatic Romagna Coast, where non-hotel accommodation recorded +11.63% in arrivals and +6.38% in overnight stays, while the hotel sector grew by +4.06% in arrivals and +0.43% in overnight stays respectively. 

The Romagna Riviera season starts at Easter

Although Emilia-Romagna welcomes tourists all year round, the main tourist season on the Riviera starts around Easter. At that time, numerous events connected with sport, culture, tradition and local cuisine take place on the Adriatic Romagna Coast and in the region's historic towns and villages. There are outdoor events, festivals and Easter fairs, as well as many initiatives in gardens, nature areas and the Po Delta Park. With the arrival of spring, the castles, museums and theme parks of the Romagna Riviera reopen to visitors.

Spring is a good time to discover the region, which offers 110 kilometres of sandy beaches, historic towns and art cities, as well as nature areas, cycle routes and the food tourism for which Emilia-Romagna is famous.

Direct flights to Bologna and Rimini

In 2026, Emilia-Romagna is easy to reach from Poland thanks to direct flights to Bologna and Rimini. Bologna can be reached from Warsaw, Kraków and Wrocław with LOT, Ryanair and Wizz Air. Rimini is served from Kraków and Wrocław (from 29 March) by Ryanair, and from Katowice (from 8 June) and Warsaw-Modlin (from 21 May) by Wizz Air.

Since 31 March 2026, LOT Polish Airlines has been operating a direct, year-round route from Warsaw to Bologna, further improving access to the region throughout the year. Thanks to direct flights from several Polish cities, tourists from Poland can easily reach both the Adriatic coast and the region's main cities, such as Bologna, Ravenna, Ferrara, Modena and Parma.