Spa tourism: a €5 billion impact. ‘More promotion abroad’

A sector which, in 2025, recorded 24 million visitor arrivals, with an economic impact on local areas of over 5 billion euros and an average daily tourist spend (excluding travel and accommodation) of 166 euros, +77 per cent compared with the Italian average.

Yet Italian spas - 320 establishments across 19 regions – have scope for further development: for example, in services for the elderly, health tourism and residential care in a country where the over-65s account for 25.1 per cent of the population. This potential was highlighted by the president of Federterme Renzo Iorio at the public meeting of the organisation, which is a member of Confindustria: ‘Longevity,’ he emphasised, ‘changes people’s needs and requires solutions that encompass healthcare, housing and tourism. For our businesses, this means investing in services and hospitality models capable of supporting this transformation. We call on the institutions to recognise the spa system as a structural component of policies for active ageing and to create the conditions to develop its potential, for the benefit of both public health and local economies.”

One such prospect is spa-based senior housing: small residential complexes, including those comprising 20–30 independent studio flats, designed for independent or partially independent people aged 65 and over, with communal spaces and services that can be tailored to individual needs. The link with the spa facilities integrates living with access to treatments, adapted physical activity and health education programmes. “An intermediate model between private homes and care homes, which opens up new investment opportunities in spa towns,” explains Federterme.

On the international demand front, the association is proposing a strategy to promote spa tourism linked to health and longevity, including through Italcares, the digital platform created to promote health, medical and spa tourism in Italia, with the aim of capitalising on growing global demand. This point was emphasised by the Minister for Tourism Gianmarco Mazzi: “60 per cent of spending is generated by international demand, and one in two tourists falls into the high-spending category, with an average spend of 256 euros per day – 90 euros more than the sector average.”

According to the Vice-President of Confindustria for Transport, Logistics and the Tourism Industry, Leopoldo Destro, “spa tourism can make a tangible contribution to spreading visitor numbers throughout the year and promoting less-visited destinations”. In particular, Destro emphasised, “Federterme, a long-standing association within Confindustria, is a key partner in strengthening the competitiveness of the Italian tourism industry, which must necessarily involve working with local areas, the development of efficient transport links, and training – whilst also setting us an ambitious goal: to build in Italia, together with the Government, businesses and universities, a European centre of excellence for tourism”.