Italy Keeps Pace With Germany as Europe’s Thermal Towns Reclaim Their Place in Luxury Travel

Europe is rediscovering an old travel ritual with a distinctly modern appeal. Historic thermal towns are gaining renewed relevance as wellness demand, heritage tourism and luxury hospitality converge across the continent. The trend has powerful foundations: UNESCO’s Great Spa Towns of Europe links 11 historic destinations across seven countries, while the global thermal and mineral springs sector reached $71.7 billion in 2024. Wellness tourism alone reached $894 billion, according to the latest Global Wellness Institute figures. Meanwhile, EU tourist accommodation recorded almost 3.1 billion nights in 2025, another record year. Together, these figures reveal a wider shift towards experience-rich, health-oriented and heritage-led travel.

An Old European Ritual Finds New Currency

The modern spa town did not begin as a luxury-hotel concept. Its roots lie in Europe’s historic fascination with mineral springs, therapeutic bathing and social life built around water. From the 18th century into the early 20th century, destinations developed grand hotels, drinking halls, bathhouses, gardens, theatres, casinos and promenades around natural springs.

That legacy now gives these destinations an unusual advantage. A traveller can combine thermal bathing with architecture, gastronomy, culture, nature and heritage without changing hotels. The town itself becomes the wellness product, rather than a resort operating in isolation.

The opportunity is especially timely because wellness has moved well beyond occasional massages or beauty treatments. The Global Wellness Institute says the worldwide wellness economy reached $6.8 trillion in 2024, up 7.9% in one year and roughly double its 2013 size. It expects the sector to approach $9.8 trillion by 2029, with Europe among the strongest regional markets.

UNESCO Gives the Revival a Stronger Foundation

The clearest expression of Europe’s thermal heritage is the Great Spa Towns of Europe, inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2021. The transnational property covers Baden bei Wien in Austria, Spa in Belgium, three towns in Czechia, Vichy in France, three in Germany, Montecatini Terme in Italy and Bath in the United Kingdom.

The designation matters because these are not simply collections of historic bathhouses. UNESCO recognises an entire urban model built around springs, including hotels, villas, parks, colonnades, drinking halls, cultural venues and therapeutic facilities. The protected landscapes therefore preserve the architecture and social infrastructure of spa travel, not merely the water.

2026 provides an additional news peg. July marked five years since the property’s inscription, prompting anniversary programmes across the participating towns. Baden bei Wien, for example, combined the UNESCO anniversary with the centenary of its historic Thermalstrandbad, while Bath is marking 20 years of Thermae Bath Spa.

The Numbers Behind the Wellness Shift

The revival is not resting solely on heritage appeal. The economics of wellness are expanding rapidly, giving thermal destinations a much larger commercial market to target.

The Global Wellness Institute estimates that 31,386 thermal and mineral springs establishments operated worldwide in 2024. Together, they generated about $72 billion in revenue, including bathing, spa treatments, accommodation, food and other visitor services. Higher-end properties represent only about a quarter of establishments, yet they generate more than two-thirds of sector revenues.

That imbalance is crucial for European destinations. It suggests that the biggest opportunity does not necessarily lie in building more basic bathing facilities. Instead, investment can focus on integrated, higher-value experiences combining accommodation, treatments, gastronomy, recreation and premium service.

The latest figures also show that thermal and mineral springs grew 11.1% between 2023 and 2024. GWI forecasts roughly 10% annual growth for the sector through 2029, putting thermal water among the faster-expanding parts of the wellness economy.

From Taking the Waters to Taking Time

The most important transformation is cultural. Traditional European spa tourism often revolved around prescribed cures, extended stays and formal social rituals. Today’s traveller may instead arrive for two or three nights, combine bathing with hiking or culture, and return home without following a medical programme.

That change has expanded the potential customer base. Thermal towns can now appeal to couples, affluent city-break travellers, older visitors, wellness seekers, outdoor enthusiasts and travellers seeking quieter alternatives to Europe’s busiest capitals.

The distinction also changes the meaning of luxury. Luxury increasingly means time, privacy, restoration and access to distinctive experiences, rather than simply the highest room rate.

Three Models Are Driving the New Luxury

Not every destination is pursuing the same formula. Bath represents the heritage-led model, Baden-Baden the grand European spa tradition, while Alpine destinations increasingly combine thermal bathing with outdoor recreation.

Urban thermal destinations offer another proposition. Budapest, although outside the UNESCO group, demonstrates how historic bathing can operate as part of a major city experience. Visitors can combine thermal architecture with restaurants, museums, nightlife and cultural attractions, creating a very different product from a secluded resort.

The emerging market can therefore be understood through several distinct propositions.

Bath Shows How Heritage Creates Wider Value

Bath offers one of the clearest examples of the commercial relationship between heritage and tourism. The city holds UNESCO World Heritage status both individually and through the Great Spa Towns of Europe designation.

Its World Heritage Centre attracted 127,051 visitors in 2023, exceeding its annual target of 100,000. The city’s 2024 Christmas Market then drew an estimated 444,000 visitors, generating £41.5 million in business turnover and about £60.4 million in wider city spending. The event also supported around 500 jobs.

Those figures reveal an important point for destination managers. Heritage does not simply attract visitors to monuments; it can stimulate spending across accommodation, retail, restaurants, events and transport.

The thermal story therefore extends well beyond the pool. A successful spa town monetises an entire destination ecosystem.

Italy Adds a Powerful Wellness-Economy Signal

Italy provides another compelling indication of where thermal tourism could head. New Global Wellness Institute research released in February 2026 valued Italy’s overall wellness economy at $140.6 billion, making it the world’s tenth-largest and Europe’s fourth-largest. Its wellness tourism, spa and thermal-mineral springs sectors together approached $27 billion in 2024.

That scale matters for destinations such as Montecatini Terme. The opportunity lies in connecting thermal heritage with Italy’s established strengths in food, design, culture, landscape and luxury accommodation.

Susie Ellis, chair and chief executive of the Global Wellness Institute, described Italy in February 2026 as having an integrated wellness market supported by its thermal heritage, preventive medicine and natural assets. The observation points towards a broader European trend: thermalism can become a platform for multiple tourism products, rather than a standalone treatment category.

Why Four-Season Travel Could Matter

Thermal towns also possess an advantage over some conventional leisure destinations: they can operate across a broader calendar. Bathing remains attractive in cold weather, while historic architecture, restaurants, cultural venues and indoor wellness facilities can soften seasonal fluctuations.

This does not make every spa town automatically year-round. However, the model offers destinations more tools for distributing demand beyond peak summer.

That matters as European tourism reaches unprecedented scale. EU accommodation recorded almost 3.1 billion nights in 2025, up 2.2% from 2024, with international guest nights rising 3.4%. Hotels and similar accommodation accounted for roughly 1.9 billion nights, or 63% of the total.

For thermal towns, the strategic opportunity is clear. They can attract visitors during periods when Europe’s major sightseeing cities face either capacity pressure or intense summer competition.

Luxury Is Moving Beyond the Hotel Room

The new proposition also challenges the traditional definition of luxury hospitality. A premium thermal destination can sell a restored historic building, access to mineral water, a curated treatment programme, fine dining, landscaped parks and cultural experiences as one connected stay.

That creates an important distinction between a luxury hotel with a spa and a luxury spa town. The former sells an amenity; the latter sells a complete setting.

For travellers, that can produce greater value even when the accommodation is not the only premium component. A three-night itinerary can combine thermal bathing, heritage tours, regional food, walking, cultural events and wellness treatments without requiring multiple transfers.

What Travellers Should Compare Before Booking

Travellers should also look beyond glossy spa photography. Natural thermal water, heated recreational water and conventional hotel spa facilities are not interchangeable categories.

GWI’s thermal-springs definition specifically excludes facilities using artificially heated water without naturally sourced thermal or mineral water. Travellers who value the thermal-water experience should therefore check the source of the water, the type of bathing facility and whether treatments form part of the offer.

Travellers should also check whether a facility operates throughout the year. Some historic establishments have seasonal opening patterns, while newer hotel spas may offer more consistent access.

The Rail-Friendly Slow-Travel Opportunity

Thermal towns also fit neatly into Europe’s growing appetite for slower, more immersive journeys. Many historic spa destinations sit within practical reach of major cities, allowing visitors to combine rail travel with a two- or three-night stay.

That model can help travellers reduce airport transfers while adding a second destination to a wider European itinerary. A visitor might pair Vienna with Baden bei Wien, Prague with West Bohemian spa towns, or London with Bath.

The broader travel market supports this flexibility. In 2025, international visitors accounted for nearly half of EU tourist accommodation nights, demonstrating the enormous cross-border market available to destinations with strong international connectivity.

A More Nuanced Wellness Story

There is, however, an important caveat. Thermal bathing should not automatically be presented as a medical treatment or cure for specific conditions. The evidence varies by therapy, mineral composition and health outcome, while individual medical needs require professional advice.

The strongest travel proposition therefore rests elsewhere. Thermal water provides the setting, while the destination combines relaxation, heritage, nature, hospitality and culture into a broader experience.

That distinction also makes the sector more credible. European spa towns do not need exaggerated health claims when their strongest competitive advantages already include centuries of history, distinctive architecture and a mature hospitality ecosystem.

What The Next Decade Could Bring

The next stage of the revival is likely to depend on investment and destination management. Heritage restoration can protect the character that makes these towns distinctive, while contemporary hotels and wellness facilities can prevent them from becoming museum pieces.

The challenge will be balancing commercial growth with authenticity. UNESCO’s 2021 inscription explicitly places emphasis on protecting the authenticity and integrity of the 11 towns, making conservation a central part of their future.

The opportunity is nevertheless substantial. A $71.7 billion global thermal-springs sector, an $894 billion wellness-tourism market and record European tourism demand create unusually favourable conditions for destinations that can connect water, wellness, heritage and hospitality.

Europe Is Rediscovering Its Spa Advantage

The revival of Europe’s thermal towns is not simply a nostalgia story. It reflects a wider revaluation of experiences built around health, nature, heritage and slower rhythms of travel.

The strongest destinations will not merely renovate old bathhouses or add fashionable treatment menus. They will connect thermal water with hotels, restaurants, culture, landscapes and transport into a coherent destination proposition. Bath, Baden-Baden, Karlovy Vary, Vichy, Montecatini Terme and Baden bei Wien show how different versions of that model can emerge.

For travellers, the result is a broader choice beyond conventional city breaks and resort holidays. For Europe’s tourism industry, it offers something even more valuable: a historic product with modern demand, distinctive identity and considerable room for reinvention.