€10bn to support tourism businesses associated with Confindustria
17 September 2025
Intesa Sanpaolo and Confindustria Alberghi, Federturismo and Federterme (trade associations representing Italian tourism and hospitality businesses) have signed an agreement for the relaunch of Italian tourism businesses, making available €10 billion as part of the €200 billion provided by the four-year national agreement with Confindustria.
More specifically, the agreement includes initiatives for growth and competitiveness, both through financial solutions and dedicated services, such as:
- redevelopment and enhancement of the quality standards of accommodation facilities
- investment in products, services, technologies and infrastructure that accelerate sustainable transition processes, with particular focus on the circular economy and optimal energy balance from sustainable sources
- support for business digitalisation and staff training as key elements for growth
- initiatives supporting consolidation within the tourism and hospitality sector, and growth through extraordinary finance
- development of new staff housing solutions to facilitate labour mobility and attracting workers
- equipment leasing to optimise energy efficiency and asset lifecycle.
With this agreement, Intesa Sanpaolo aims to boost the development of an increasingly sustainable and high-quality tourism model, with strong attention to employment.
“As the reference bank for the main sectors of the Italian economy, this agreement further strengthens our support for the tourism industry, to which we have disbursed over €12 billion since 2020 to reinforce its fundamentals and make it even more relevant within the country’s economy”
Stefano Barrese, Head of Intesa Sanpaolo’s Banca dei Territori Division
The new measures planned for tourism businesses affiliated with Confindustria were presented at the conference “Tourism between innovation and new investment”, during which the third report “Tourism & Territory. Trends, impacts and business dynamics: the challenges of the tourism supply chain” was presented. According to the report, Italian tourism is showing promising signs of growth but also faces significant challenges. Forecasts for 2025 estimate around 477 million tourist overnight stays and a value added from the supply chain exceeding €106 billion.
Summary of the report by SRM – Research Centre focused on economics and business trends in Italy, linked to Intesa Sanpaolo
Towards a more competitive, sustainable and territorially impactful Italian tourism
Italian tourism enters 2025 with promising signs of growth, but also with increasingly complex challenges ahead. In a continuously recovering international context, Italy is showing positive dynamics: SRM’s 2025 forecasts estimate around 476.9 million tourist overnight stays (+2.3% compared to 2024), of which 212.1 million are domestic and 264.8 million international. Initial official ISTAT data for the first half of 2025 and early results from the summer season observed by various monitoring bodies confirm the SRM estimates already formulated in April. The value added of the supply chain is expected to reach €106.3 billion, equivalent to 106.4% of pre-pandemic levels, while turnover in the “Hotels and Restaurants” sector shows a 1.6% increase over 2024 and +25.6% compared to 2019. These figures reflect a healthy sector, but call for targeted policies to consolidate sustainability, value production and value distribution.
Italy stands out in the European context
According to the Regional Tourism Competitiveness Index (ICTR) developed by SRM, which analyses 98 regions in Italy, Spain, France and Germany, Italy has the highest average score (123.4 points) compared to the EU4 benchmark value of 100. The Autonomous Province of Bolzano ranks first overall, with Veneto, Tuscany, Lazio, Emilia-Romagna and Lombardy all appearing among the top 15 European destinations.
A decisive role for businesses
The SRM 2025 survey (carried out within the GRINS Programme), based on 1,000 hospitality businesses, shows that 64% of them have invested more than 15% of their turnover over the last three years, that 47% plan to make new investments in the 2025–2027 period, and that the main motivations are precisely related to improving business performance and meeting new traveller expectations. These investments will primarily focus on efficiency and sustainability (reduction in water consumption, waste sorting and energy efficiency) and on improving the quality of the tourism offer (use of local supply chains, staff and management training, and improvement of accessibility and health standards). Skills remain a central issue: difficulties in finding operational staff are matched by a growing need for soft skills, such as problem solving, communication, flexibility and teamwork ability.
