Exploring the potential of yoga tourism in Italy: insights from a comprehensive database study and strategic development recommendations

The following research reveals the nature and main characteristics of global yoga tourism, with a particular focus on its development and potential within the Italian context. While wellness tourism is growing rapidly worldwide in recent years, yoga tourism remains an emerging and relatively underexplored niche, especially in Europe. The thesis addresses this gap by studying the current situation within a sector in Italy, using a unique database of yoga retreat providers. The database covers almost 160 organizations in 20 Italian regions. Different methods were used in the thesis, both qualitative and quantitative with a focus on statistical analysis. The results show that yoga tourism in Italy is highly fragmented, with significant regional disparities and uneven visibility in digital channels. Yoga tourism is underpresented in some regions, however, according to the conducted analysis the territory is not defining the pricing policy. The influence of other factors on a price was studied, but in the conclusion they were not confirmed as essential ones. In the final part of this research we gave practical reccomendations with a focus on marketing tools. In doing so, this thesis contributes to the academic discourse on wellness tourism economics and offers practical guidance for the sustainable development of yoga tourism in Italy.