The map of demand: the Genoa context in 2026
2025 closed with a figure that cannot be ignored: nearly 21 million tourist arrivals in Liguria, with an increase of over one million units compared to the previous year, equal to +3.75%. This is confirmed by the Liguria Region announcement of January 28, 2026, based on Interior Ministry data covering all regularly registered accommodation facilities, including tourist-use accommodations (AAUT). In Genoa province alone, 2025 showed a positive trend in overnight stays, according to the Regional Tourism Observatory: a performance that positions the Genoa area among the drivers of the tourist season.
Bbruno, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
In this context, Genoa’s short-term rental market is no longer a homogeneous market — if it ever was. Analysis of the urban fabric reveals very different dynamics between historically established neighborhoods and areas undergoing transition. In 2026, four areas in particular — Sestri Ponente, Sturla, Foce and Castelletto — are emerging as new fronts of interest for property owners evaluating ways to generate income from their properties.
Before delving into each area, it is useful to establish the structural framework. According to the Regional Tourism Observatory, in November 2025 in Liguria there were 39,099 furnished apartments for tourist use, for approximately 160,000 total bed spaces. A critical mass that explains why, in April 2026, the Regional Council received a draft law from the AVS group to provide municipalities with tools to regulate the expansion of short-term rentals, including in Genoa. This is, therefore, a market of significant size: as far back as 2019, tourism was worth over 5 billion euros in total economic impact to the Ligurian economy (2019 data) — and it is precisely this economic weight that places it today at the center of a growing regulatory debate.
The emerging areas: four profiles compared
Sestri Ponente: regeneration as a driver
Sestri Ponente is historically the neighborhood least associated with tourism in the Genoa landscape, yet in 2024 it was the most searched neighborhood on Casa.it for properties for sale in Genoa (source: GenovaToday, December 2025). A first place then ceded to San Fruttuoso in 2025, but which tells much about the trajectory of this western area. Real estate values for a property in good condition stand between 900 and 1,400 euros per square meter (source: Primocanale, November 2024), significantly lower than central areas — a low starting point that fuels gross rental yields.
Alessio Sbarbaro, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
The most significant change on the infrastructure front concerns the new “Genova Aeroporto” railway station, which entered the construction phase in April 2026 between Sampierdarena and Sestri Ponente, as part of the Third Valico Single Project / Genoa Hub (source: La Voce di Genova, March 2026). The objective is the completion of the six-tracking Principe–Brignole and four-tracking Voltri–Sampierdarena — the latter activated on October 6, 2025 (source: RFI, October 2025). A new airport station connected directly to the urban rail network would structurally modify accessibility to Sestri Ponente for those arriving in the city by air.
On the urban regeneration front, the private project for the former industrial area Marconi — which provides public spaces of over 3,800 square meters, 150 new trees, coworking spaces and student housing — has received full support from the Municipality and represents an intervention to repurpose an abandoned area in the heart of the neighborhood (source: GenovaToday, March 2025). In parallel, in March 2026 the municipal executive held an itinerant session in Sestri Ponente to address environmental regeneration issues, indicating the neighborhood as “one of the city’s most sensitive areas” (source: GenovaQuotidiana, March 2026).
For property owners, Sestri Ponente presents today a profile of high potential at low entry price: gross rental yields on platforms can theoretically exceed 8% where the acquisition cost remains contained — a threshold documented for the Genoa market, with similar peaks recorded for studio apartments in the Historic Center, although the data should be read as a scenario estimate and not as a guaranteed return. The structural limitation remains the absence of a consolidated tourist identity: demand exists, but is still predominantly linked to business travel, proximity tourism and university mobility, not high-end leisure tourism.
Sturla: stability and yield from Levante
Sturla is located midway between the established center and the Levante seafront, with a real estate profile that the Tecnocasa Studies Office, in its analysis of the first half of 2025, describes as characterized by value stability (source: Tecnocasa, March 2026). In the ten-year ranking compiled by Property Scenarios, Valle Sturla recorded a price increase of +25.5% over ten years, with a maximum of 3,500 euros per square meter for renovated properties — a performance similar to that of Brignole and Castelletto (source: Primocanale, June 2025).
Interest in Sturla for short-term rentals is explained by several concurrent factors: proximity to the sea and the waterfront promenade, closeness to Boccadasse (which acts as an independent tourist attraction hub), and the availability of apartments ranging from 60 to 80 square meters — the most sought-after size for mid-range short-term rentals. The Fiaip Observatory (March 2026, GenovaQuotidiana) also identifies Sturla and Quarto among the areas showing “a markedly greater ability to defend value compared to other parts of Genoa, thanks to a mix of urban quality, services, proximity to the sea and residential appeal.”
The monthly rent for a three-room apartment in the Sturla–Boccadasse area stands at around 600 euros for traditional contracts (source: Genova24, January 2025). Converting this parameter to short-term tourism with average occupancy rates for the segment, the potential gross return is significantly higher — although seasonal variation (high in summer, low in winter) remains a factor to consider in cash flow planning.
Foce: the market’s “radar” neighborhood
Foce is identified by the Real Estate Scenarios analysis as one of today’s most attractive neighborhoods in central Genoa (source: Primocanale, June 2025). Located east of the center, near Corso Italia and the seafront, it has benefited from sustained residential demand and real estate prices that for new properties reach between 3,500 and 5,000 euros per square meter — the highest quotations for new construction in the city (source: Primocanale, November 2024).
The Fiaip Observatory (March 2026) lists Foce, together with Albaro, Nervi and Carignano, among markets “above average” in their ability to maintain value over time. For short-term rentals, Foce’s attractiveness translates into a higher ADR (Average Daily Rate) compared to the city average, supported by visitor profile: leisure tourists with higher spending capacity, attracted by the seafront promenade and proximity to the center. Tecnocasa data from the first half of 2025 shows a decline of -1.7% in the Castelletto–Foce–San Martino macro-area (source: Tecnocasa, March 2026): not a sign of structural crisis, but a settling after years of growth, which for those considering a purchase aimed at tourist rental can represent an opportunity to enter at slightly revised values.
Castelletto: the consolidated area with emerging drivers
Castelletto is traditionally associated with the premium segment of Genoese residential rentals. With average prices around 2,100 euros per square meter (source: Berti Investimenti Immobiliari, December 2024) and quotations for renovated apartments up to 3,300 euros/sqm (source: Primocanale, November 2024), it ranks fifth among the city’s most expensive neighborhoods. Demand for three-room apartments for traditional rent in the Manin and via Assarotti areas stands at around 800 euros monthly (source: Genova24, January 2025) — the highest rent in the analyzed sample.
For short-term rentals, Castelletto offers a profile of high perceived quality, supported by the neighborhood’s morphology (panoramic views of the port are a differentiating element difficult to replicate in other areas), the network of services and the ease of access to the historic center. The “emerging” element here is not the discovery of the neighborhood, but the progressive positioning toward a more demanding international target: visitors seeking something more authentic than conventional hospitality, and who are willing to pay rates accordingly.
Consolidated data from June 2025 confirmed an extremely positive trend for Liguria tourism, with the Regional Liguria Tourism Assessor Luca Lombardi among the protagonists of institutional communication in the sector (source: Riviera Time, June 2025).
Consolidated areas vs. emerging areas: an operational comparison
To contextualize the four areas analyzed, a comparison with the historical reference markets for Genoese short-term rentals is useful: the Historic center and the Brignole area.
Davide Papalini, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
The Genoese historic center — from the alleys of Sottoripa to piazza Banchi, from Maddalena to Carmine — represents the highest concentration of tourist accommodations in the city. Tecnocasa analysis from the first half of 2025 reports unchanged prices for the center, with a specific decline for renovated solutions “for which prices that are now unsustainable were asked” (source: Tecnocasa, March 2026). It is a signal of a market that has reached a certain maturity, where competition among operators is high and margins for incremental yield narrow. The area remains strategic for volumes and continuous demand, but does not present the upside opportunities typical of a market in expansion phase.
Brignole, as a rail and multimodal interchange hub, maintains structural demand from transit tourism and business travel — less sensitive to seasonality compared to marine areas, but also less oriented toward high-level experiential tourism. The decade-long growth in real estate prices in the Brignole–Castelletto area has been +25% (source: Primocanale/Scenari Immobiliari, June 2025), in line with prestigious areas — which reduces the competitive advantage for those entering today with the goal of maximizing returns.
| Area | Average Price €/sqm (renovated) | Price Growth 10 years | Short-term Demand Profile | Main Driver 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Old Town | up to 3,200 | stable / consolidation | High, competitive, seasonal | Mature market, compressed margins |
| Brignole | ~2,500–3,000 | +25% | Business / transit | Railway hub, Terzo Valico |
| Castelletto | up to 3,300 | +25% | Premium leisure, international | Panorama, authenticity, premium positioning |
| Foce | up to 5,000 (new) | Growing | Seaside leisure, families | Corso Italia, Yacht Show |
| Sturla | up to 3,100 | +25.5% | East side, seaside, mid-to-high | Boccadasse, proximity to sea |
| Sestri Ponente | 900–1,400 (good condition) | Low baseline | Business, university, emerging | Airport station, urban regeneration |
Source: analysis based on Tecnocasa data I sem. 2025, Real Estate Scenarios/Primocanale, Fiaip Observatory March 2026, Berti Investimenti Immobiliari, Genova24.
The role of events and infrastructure in tourism demand
No market analysis for 2026 can overlook the weight of events and ongoing infrastructure construction projects, which are physically reshaping accessibility and attractiveness in certain areas of the city.
The International Yacht Show remains the primary demand multiplier for short-term rentals in the eastern part of the city. The 65th edition took place from 18 to 23 September 2025; the previous edition, in 2024, had drawn over 120,000 visitors (source: Confindustria Nautica). This event — the largest by attendance in the Mediterranean and among the three most important worldwide according to Confindustria Nautica — generates demand concentrated in the Foce, Castelletto and city center areas, with saturation of conventional accommodation facilities that drives part of demand toward short-term rentals. During Show week, average tariffs on platforms tend to record the highest peaks of the year.
On the infrastructure front, the Unified Terzo Valico Project / Genoa Hub — with a total investment of several billion euros from state and EU funds (source: OTI Piemonte, 2025 update) — is proceeding in phases. The quadrupling of tracks on the Voltri–Sampierdarena line was activated on October 6, 2025; final completion is estimated by 2027, with progressive activations from 2025–2026. For Sestri Ponente, the new airport station changes the perspective for those arriving in Genoa from abroad: today the airport is reachable by shuttle bus; tomorrow it will be directly connected to the urban railway network, reducing travel times to the neighborhood.
At Genoa Airport, 2026 confirms a trajectory of strong growth. The Cristoforo Colombo airport closed 2025 with a record 1,577,159 passengers (+18.1% over 2024, surpassing the previous 2019 high), and the first quarter of 2026 continued with double-digit growth (+19.9% in passengers compared to the same period in 2025; source: Genoa Airport, April 2026). On the infrastructure front, the programme to expand and modernise the passenger terminal is underway, incorporated into the Investment Plan updated in 2025 (source: Genoa Airport / ENAC, Ordinance 2/2025). If these flows consolidate, the indirect effect on short-term rental demand — particularly for short stays of 2–3 nights by European tourists — could be significant especially for the West areas (Sestri Ponente, Sampierdarena) before even the center.
Implications for owners: reading the market before deciding
What does all this mean for an owner with an apartment in Genoa considering whether — and where — to enter the short-term rental market?
The first consideration is methodological: the neighborhood matters, but positioning of the property within the neighborhood matters more. An apartment in Sestri Ponente with sea view and renovated does not compete in the same market as an apartment on lower floors without natural light, even if they are two hundred meters apart. The same logic applies to Sturla, where actual proximity to the sea and the Boccadasse promenade determines a notable difference in tariff and occupancy rates.
The second consideration concerns timing of entry. Emerging areas like Sestri Ponente present today contained purchase prices and structurally growing demand, but also greater uncertainty about the pace of this growth. Established areas like Castelletto and Foce offer demand certainty but higher entry prices and gross return margins already compressed by competition. There is no universal answer: the choice depends on the investment time horizon, capital availability and the owner’s risk appetite.
The third consideration concerns the regulatory framework. The 2026 tax reform (flat tax of 21% on the first property and 26% on the second; VAT number requirement from the third property, as provided by the 2026 Budget Law) has already altered the economic profile of multi-property operators. The CIN — National Identification Code — has been fully operational since 2024, and the regional bill under discussion in the Regional Council could add further regulation tools at the municipal level. Those entering today’s Genoa short-term rental market with a single property remain under simplified flat tax regime; those managing a portfolio must carefully assess the most suitable tax and operational structure (for a detailed analysis of regulations, please refer to the technical guide published on this site).
“The high profitability of tourism rentals compared to residential rentals has pushed a growing share of owners to remove properties from the long-term market.”
— Selena Candia, AVS group leader Liguria Region, April 2026 (source: Genova24)
Candia’s statement — though part of a political debate — captures a market reality that data confirms: in the province of Genoa, between October 2023 and October 2024, residential rents grew by 11% (source: Genova24, April 2026). This differential return between tourism and residential rentals is the engine of AAUT growth, but it is also the parameter that guides regulation. A market that grows in disorderly fashion tends to generate regulatory pressure — and it is a risk factor to keep in mind in medium-term planning.
Those who manage their properties through a professional operator, with a diversified portfolio and in-depth knowledge of the dynamics of each neighborhood, are structurally better positioned to adapt to these changes. If you are considering generating income from your property in Genoa — whether in one of the emerging areas or in an established neighborhood — you can browse the portfolio of our residences in the heart of Genoa as a reference for positioning, or request an evaluation through the page dedicated to professional management of your apartment.
Analysis based on data and public sources. genovabb.it is not a news outlet. The data reported have been collected from sources believed to be reliable but their accuracy is not guaranteed.
