Growth

Tourism in luxury hotels is worth 10.4 billion; the number of guests has more than doubled since 2008

Since 2008, overnight stays have risen by 111.1 per cent, compared with the 14.5 per cent recorded for the hotel sector as a whole. Luxury accommodation, however, remains concentrated in a few destinations: 17 provinces account for 79.2 per cent of guest nights

by Pietro Menzani

7 November 2026

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3' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

Key points

Growth in the sector
How many luxury hotels are there in Italia, and where are they?
The distribution of hotels
Where do the tourists come from

3' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

Luxury tourism in Italy is growing rapidly: by 2025, spending by guests at 5-star and 5-star luxury hotels is set to reach 10.4 billion euros, accounting for 17.3 per cent of total spending in the Italian hotel sector (just over 60 billion euros). According to estimates, each overnight stay in a high-end hotel generates an average of 702 euros in direct tourist spending, compared with the hotel sector average of 209 euros.

At regional level, Lazio ranks first with €2.3 billion, accounting for 21.7 per cent of the sector’s total expenditure. It is followed by Trentino-Alto Adige with 1.7 billion, Veneto with 1.4 billion, Lombardy with 1.3 billion and Tuscany with one billion. These figures were revealed in a survey published by Demoskopika.

Growth in the sector

Between 2008 and 2025, the luxury tourism sector recorded significantly higher growth than the hotel sector as a whole: overnight stays in 5-star and 5-star luxury hotels rose by 111.1 per cent, compared with a 14.5 per cent increase recorded for the hotel sector as a whole.

In 2025, overnight stays in high-end accommodation reached nearly 14.9 million (+5.7 per cent compared with the previous year) and arrivals totalled over 4.9 million (+5 per cent), confirming Italy’s growing appeal to high-spending guests.

How many luxury hotels are there in Italia, and where are they?

In 2025, there were 809 five-star and five-star luxury hotels operating in Italia – 38 more than in 2024 (+4.9 per cent) and 123 more than in 2023 – with a total capacity of almost 110,000 beds, up 6.1 per cent over the past year and accounting for 4.8 per cent of the country’s total hotel accommodation capacity.

At regional level, the geographical distribution of luxury accommodation is uneven. Concentration is particularly high in Sardinia, where 5-star beds account for 11.2 per cent of hotel capacity. Rounding off the top three are Valle d’Aosta, with 8.8 per cent, and Sicily, with 7.5 per cent. At the bottom of the table, however, we find Emilia-Romagna, Marche and Molise, where the proportion of beds in 5-star establishments is less than 1 per cent.

The distribution of hotels

At provincial level, the survey identifies 17 ‘luxury hubs’, where a significant share of national guest numbers in 5-star and 5-star luxury hotels is accompanied by a higher-than-average proportion of this segment. These are Rome, Bolzano, Venice, Florence, Milan, Naples, Sassari, Padua, Brescia, Genoa, Messina, Palermo, Aosta, Como, Siena, Salerno and Agrigento. Overall, these areas account for more than 11.5 million overnight stays, representing 79.2 per cent of high-end guest nights.

In particular, the province of Rome alone accounts for 19.7 per cent of overnight stays, followed by Bolzano with 13.1 per cent, whilst the five provinces of Rome, Bolzano, Venice, Florence and Milan account for 53.4 per cent of national overnight stays in this segment. In 25 provinces, however, there are no 5-star hotels at all.

Demoskopika then ranks 12 “niche luxury areas”, characterised by a high proportion of this segment but lower volumes: Bari, Pistoia, Brindisi, Syracuse, Lucca, Southern Sardinia, Cagliari, Parma, Pisa, Grosseto, Matera and Oristano.

Where do the tourists come from?

The research identified eleven countries which together account for 62.2 per cent of foreign guest nights in hotels: Germany, the United States and the United Kingdom take the top three spots. They are followed by France, Switzerland, Austria, Spain, the Netherlands, Canada, Australia and Japan. By 2025, tourists from these countries are projected to have generated a total turnover for the hotel sector – across the various components of tourism expenditure – amounting to 21.4 billion euros.

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