Luxury Tourism in Italy Generates €10.4 Billion in Spending, While 25 Provinces Have No Five-Star Hotels

A new study reveals a 111% increase in luxury hotel overnight stays since 2008, with 17 provinces accounting for 79.2% of activity and average tourism spending reaching €702 per overnight stay.

Italian research institute Demoskopika has estimated that direct tourism spending associated with five-star and luxury hotels in Italy reached approximately €10.4 billion in 2025, representing 17.3% of total estimated tourism spending in the hotel sector.

The findings highlight significant geographical disparities in the distribution of luxury accommodation and visitor activity across the country.

The study, whose results were published on November 6, 2026, revealed that overnight stays in luxury hotels increased by 111.1% between 2008 and 2025, compared with growth of 14.5% across the hotel sector as a whole.

According to the study's estimates, average direct tourism spending associated with each overnight stay in luxury hotels reached approximately €702, compared with €209 across the hotel sector overall.

Five-star and luxury hotels recorded approximately 14.9 million overnight stays in 2025 and more than 4.9 million guest arrivals, representing annual increases of 5.7% and 5%, respectively.

These figures reflect growing demand for upscale hotel accommodation, while highlighting the importance of distinguishing between direct tourism spending and hotel room revenue alone.

The province of Rome accounted for 19.7% of all overnight stays in luxury hotels, while Rome, Bolzano, Venice, Florence and Milan together represented 53.4% of the national total.

According to the study, 79.2% of luxury hotel overnight stays were concentrated in just 17 Italian provinces.

In terms of direct tourism spending, the Lazio region ranked first with approximately €2.3 billion, followed by Trentino-Alto Adige at €1.7 billion, Veneto at €1.4 billion, Lombardy at €1.3 billion and Tuscany at around €1 billion.

Meanwhile, Demoskopika's ELITE Index, developed to assess the attractiveness of luxury tourism destinations, ranked Lazio, Trentino-Alto Adige, Campania, Aosta Valley and Sardinia as the leading regions.

Italy had 809 five-star and luxury hotels in 2025, an increase of 38 properties compared with the previous year, with a combined capacity of approximately 110,000 beds.

Despite this growth, the study found that 25 Italian provinces had no five-star hotels, highlighting the concentration of high-end accommodation in a limited number of destinations.

The institute noted that the challenge extends beyond increasing the number of properties to improving the utilisation of existing hotel capacity and extending operating seasons, particularly in southern regions affected by seasonality.

The study highlights the expansion of Italy's luxury accommodation market while revealing substantial differences between destinations in terms of demand and hotel distribution.

For investors and hotel operators, higher average tourism spending does not necessarily establish the financial viability of developing a five-star property.

Investment returns depend on several factors, including development and operating costs, actual occupancy rates, seasonality and average daily room rates.

Similarly, the absence of luxury hotels in certain provinces does not automatically indicate unmet demand or an attractive investment opportunity.

Such markets require careful assessment of visitor flows, air connectivity and supporting infrastructure before investment decisions are made.

The findings suggest that improving the performance of existing hotels and extending tourism seasons could be just as important as developing new luxury properties.