Storm brews as Italian hoteliers target weather forecasters

Italian beach hotel managers who have battled eroding coastlines, plagues of jellyfish and plunging currencies in recent years are taking on a new foe they claim has emptied one of Italy's top beaches over Easter.

Hoteliers in Forte dei Marmi in Tuscany are furious with Italy's weather forecasters for predicting that storms would batter the resort, which basked in sunshine and temperatures of 24c (75F) over the holiday weekend. Backed by the mayor, they are now threatening legal action against the "hazardous guesswork" and "cheating cynicism" of Italian forecasters, claiming cancellations have cost them at least 10% of their business.

"The sun's been shining for days, yet I turned on the TV and they are still predicting storms," the mayor, Umberto Buratti, told Corriere della Sera, adding that he would meet with hoteliers next week to consider asking for damages.



Paolo Corchia, head of the hotels association, complained that five customers had cancelled reservations at his hotel. "If we are lucky we will only lose 10% of business, which you can add to the 20% drop due to the financial crisis," he said.

The Italian weather site Meteogiornale admitted that weather conditions over the Atlantic had made Easter forecasts "uncertain", but Corchia claimed the experts had simply sown fear instead of advising caution: "The forecasters are not gods, and there are no oracles, especially not here, where the mountains, the sea and the wind make predicting the weather tougher than picking a lottery winner."

But Italians tend to trust weather forecasts, which are supplied to the state TV network by the Italian air force and presented at the end of the news by avuncular air force officials in uniform. The rival Mediaset network, controlled by the prime minister, Silvio Berlusconi, uses some air force data but creates its own forecasts, while Sky Italia sources its own data, suggesting that hotel managers may have trouble deciding who to sue.