The Winter Olympics start tonight, which means watching the world’s best athletes push themselves to the limit, seeing ice skating and alpine runs decided by fractions of a second, and yes, the lingering hope of another Steven Bradbury moment. If you are travelling to Italy now, or have plans locked in around Milan Cortina 2026, here is what you need to know.
The Milan Cortina Winter Olympic Games will run until 22 February, followed by the Winter Paralympic Games from 6 to 15 March. Events will be held across eight cities in northern Italy, including Milan and Verona, meaning travellers may find themselves moving between regions rather than staying put.
Australia has updated its travel advice for its citizens, and Italy is already gearing its systems and tourism strategy around the Olympic cycle.
What Smartraveller says
Australia’s official travel advisory service, Smartraveller, has updated its advice for Italy ahead of the 2026 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Smartraveller advises Australians to plan transport, accommodation and event tickets well in advance, allow sufficient travel time between locations and carry valid identification at all times. Italian authorities may request proof of identity, including passports, particularly around transport hubs and major event zones.
This is standard Olympic reality. Big crowds, fixed schedules and very little tolerance for improvisation. For travellers, the smoothest trips are the ones planned before the opening ceremony.
Italy is not only hosting, it is marketing
At the same time, Italy is doing far more than managing logistics. It is selling itself.
Italy’s national tourism board, ENIT, has officially joined the Milan Cortina 2026 Olympic and Paralympic Games as a sponsor, placing tourism promotion inside the global Olympic spotlight, in a deliberate play to turn sporting attention into travel demand.
The board plans to use the Games to push travel beyond winter, beyond the host cities and beyond the obvious. Food and wine. Culture. Regional towns. Secondary destinations. The Olympics become the hook, not the product.
Italy has run this play before. Cortina d’Ampezzo in 1956 helped cement the country’s alpine image. Turin 2006 became a launchpad for Piemonte and northern Italy as international destinations. Milan Cortina 2026 scales that approach across more regions, with bigger audiences and faster digital conversion.
For Australians watching the drama unfold on screen, Italy is already positioning itself as the next episode in their travels. For anyone travelling there now, or soon, the message is simple. Expect pressure. Expect systems. And expect Italy to be very ready for its close‑up.
KARRYON UNPACKS: Milan Cortina 2026 is pulling Italy travel decisions forward while Italy uses the Olympic spotlight to lock in demand well beyond the Games.
