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South Tyrol Wellness Report 2026

South Tyrol Wellness Report 2026 · Methodology

Methodology, sources and image credits for the South Tyrol Wellness Report 2026

For the South Tyrol Wellness Report 2026, we recorded 722 hotels using fixed wellness criteria. Here we explain the selection and the data checks. The 13 sources are linked in the same order as in the printed report.

Study

Who is included in the study

The 722 hotels make up our study dataset. The figure is not an official total for all wellness hotels in South Tyrol. A hotel was included when publicly available information documented a wellness connection under at least one of the defined criteria:

  1. wellness shapes the hotel's identity,
  2. there is a clear spa focus or wellness specialization,
  3. or a qualified pool or swimming offering is combined with a qualified sauna or heat offering and a designated relaxation room or specific treatments.

The three counted hotel groups contain 107, 138 and 477 businesses. Because of the assignment priority, each of the 722 hotels is counted exactly once. The groups are not quality levels and not a ranking. A hotel can have features of several groups but is assigned to only one group.

The three counted hotel groups

722Hotels, each counted exactly once

107138477

The groups are not quality levels and not a ranking.

Feature forms

The four additionally described feature forms are distinct from these hotel groups: 281 hotels with a pool and a view, 56 with natural water, 72 with private wellness and 40 with adult wellness plus family wellness. These figures are minimum counts within the 722 hotels, based only on documented presence, and they can overlap. They must not be added up or turned into quality judgments. A feature that was not found or is unknown is not taken to be a “no.” A reliable total number of hotels with a sauna is not given. This does not change the sauna or heat requirement for the third hotel group.

Four feature forms · minimum counts

281
A pool and a view
56
Natural water
72
Private wellness
40
Adult wellness plus family wellness
The counts may overlap. They must not be added or used to judge quality.A feature that was not found or is unknown is not taken to be a “no.”

Areas and scale comparisons

The study covers hotels in 101 of South Tyrol's 116 municipalities. The eight district areas are the seven district communities and the municipality of Bolzano. They are not tourist regions of the platform. For 2025, ASTAT reports 3,021 hotel businesses in the 1- to 5-star categories. The 722 are therefore only a size comparison based on different criteria and reference dates, not an official market share. International studies and the German DAK/forsa survey explain the general context of wellness and relaxation. They do not measure the motives of South Tyrol's guests.

District areas

8seven district communities and the municipality of Bolzano

not tourist regions of the platform · hotels in 101 of South Tyrol's 116 municipalities

Only a size comparison

722this study3,021ASTAT 2025, hotels with 1 to 5 stars

Different criteria and reference dates, not an official market share.

Data checks

How the information was checked

We assessed publicly available hotel information against the defined criteria. All 722 hotels in the report are included in the current feature dataset.

The broader working dataset contains 1,569 hotel records with 129 feature entries each, a total of 202,401 entries. For the 22 newly added hotels, 22 of 22 records were checked.

Of these entries, 578 features were documented as present, one was explicitly negative, and 2,259 were unknown or could not be found in the sources. In a separate check of shared facilities, 17 cases were closed as regular cases, two were flagged as shared facilities, none remained open, and three were not applicable.

In the independent final check, 87 of 87 checkpoints were met. It covered the recording of features and the assignment of hotels.

Sources

Sources 1 to 13 in print order

The sources follow the numbering in the South Tyrol Wellness Report 2026. The links lead to the original pages or the publishers' pages. Source 11 is our own study.

  1. 1
    Global Wellness Institute, What is Wellness.
    Original page (opens in a new window)
  2. 2
    Wellness Alliance, Wellness Defined.
    Original page (opens in a new window)
  3. 3
    Kauppi et al. (2023), International Journal of Wellbeing.
    Original article (opens in a new window): Kauppi, Vanhala, Roos & Torkki, “Assessing the structures and domains of wellness models: A systematic review”, 13(2), DOI 10.5502/ijw.v13i2.2619.
  4. 4
    Voigt, Brown & Howat (2011), Tourism Review 66(1/2).
    Publisher/DOI page (opens in a new window): “Wellness tourists: in search of transformation”.
  5. 5
    Mak et al. (2009).
    Publisher/DOI page (opens in a new window): Mak, Wong & Chang, “Health or self-indulgence? The motivations and characteristics of spa-goers”, International Journal of Tourism Research 11(2), 185-199. The year 2009 is the issue year. The article was first published online in December 2008.
  6. 6
    Lehto et al. (2006).
    Publisher/DOI page (opens in a new window): Lehto, Brown, Chen & Morrison, “Yoga Tourism as a Niche Within the Wellness Tourism Market”, Tourism Recreation Research 31(1), 25-35. The study covers a yoga travel subgroup, not South Tyrol.
  7. 7
    DAK-Gesundheit / forsa, Sommerurlaub 2025, Ergebnisbericht.
    Original PDF (PDF, opens in a new window), German respondents, no data on the motives of South Tyrol's guests.
  8. 8
    ASTAT, Statistisches Jahrbuch 2025.
    Original yearbook page (opens in a new window), chapter 1, table 1.5 on altitude. Chapter PDF (PDF, opens in a new window) only as an additional version for direct reading.
  9. 9
    Autonome Provinz Bozen, Landesforstdienst, Südtirols Wald in Zahlen; Datenbasis Forstinventur 2015.
    Original page of the Forestry Service (opens in a new window), 339,270 ha of forest / 46% of the province's area.
  10. 10
    Alpenverein Südtirol, Wege, Presseinformation 2024.
    Original press release of 18.03.2024 (opens in a new window), around 16,000 km.
  11. 11
    SuedtirolWellness, Wellness Report 2026, in-house study based on a disclosed methodology.
    Our own study
    SuedtirolWellness's own study. Selection criteria and counting method: Who is included in the study.
  12. 12
    ASTAT, Entwicklung im Tourismus 2025.
    Original publication (opens in a new window), 3,021 hotel businesses in the 1- to 5-star categories.
  13. 13
    ISTAT, Verwaltungsgrenzen / Gemeindegeometrien, Stand 01.01.2026.
    Original page on statistical administrative boundaries (opens in a new window), select the year 2026 there.

Image credits

Image credits for the South Tyrol Wellness Report 2026

The following credits identify the documented source of each image and, where known, the photographer.

Cover
Hotel Therme MeranHarald Wisthaler, www.wisthaler.com
p. 2
Seeleiten
p. 3 right
Hotel Avidea
p. 3 bottom left
Hotel Lisetta
p. 4 full page
HeinrichshofAlfred Tschager, www.tschager-foto.com
p. 5 top
Pilat666 / Envato
p. 6
Hotel Therme MeranGünter Standl, www.guenterstandl.de
p. 7
Hotel Viertler
p. 10
Hotel Fameli
p. 11 small image
Hotel Hilburger
p. 11 large image
Hotel Therme MeranHarald Wisthaler, www.wisthaler.com
p. 12 right
Hotel Hilburger
p. 13 bottom
Hotel Lisetta
p. 15 full page
AMONTI & LUNARIS WellnessresortFilippo Galluzzi

Corrections and feedback

Send notes about sources or image credits to info@suedtirolwellness.com. We mark corrections to the content on this page with the date of the change.

Write an email South Tyrol Wellness Report 2026