Australian operator launches active travel push into regional Italy

A new Australian tour operator is launching small-group running tours through regional Italy starting in 2027, according to Travel Weekly Australia. The venture represents a shift in European tourism toward active travel and interior destinations, moving beyond the overcrowded coastal circuits and major cities that have defined the Italian travel market for decades.

The operator, who has spent years on the ground building relationships with local race organisers and regional running communities, is positioning the tours as an alternative to the mass-tourism model that has strained Venice, Florence, and Rome. Running tours offer a different economic and cultural logic: smaller groups, dispersed spending across regional towns and villages, and engagement with local athletic culture rather than monumental heritage.