ROME. At the starting line the «bonus terme», aimed at supporting the purchase of spa services at accredited spas. The concession, introduced by the so-called August 2020 decree and then disciplined in practice by the decree of the Minister of Economic Development of 1 July 2021, covers up to 100% of the service purchased, for a maximum value of 200 euros per citizen and without limits. neither income (Isee) nor family unit.
From October 28, the platform, managed by the public company Invitalia, will open, containing the list of accredited spas. While from 8 November it will be possible to request the bonus. “The incentive – reads the Mise website – will be available starting from the publication, on the ministry and Invitalia websites, of the notice of opening reservations, until the allocated resources are exhausted”. It should be remembered that the government, to finance the facility, has set aside 53 million in total, which means that the available bonuses will be around 250 thousand.
“The interested citizen will have to book the spa services at an accredited spa of his choice” explains Mise, adding that the reservation must be made directly at the establishment, which will then issue the certificate. In practice, since, as seen, the concession is valid until the allocated resources are exhausted, to benefit from the bonus the user must register as soon as possible on the site of the chosen spa, booking and identifying the treatment he intends to benefit from. Subsequently, he will receive confirmation of the bonus, after verifying that he has not already requested another one.
Since the validity of the reservation will last 60 days, the related services must also be used within this period. Then the chosen spa will request the reimbursement of the value of the voucher used by the citizen through the appropriate IT platform.
«The Italian spas – says the president of Federterme-Confindustria, Massimo Caputi – are unique in the world panorama of prevention and well-being, which represents a cornerstone of tourism in our country. The bonus is an intelligent tool launched by Mise and managed by Invitalia that goes beyond the logic of “refreshments” and that supports companies by providing support to improve the quality of life of citizens ». From Federterme they underline that the Italian system, which represents about 300 companies throughout the territory with 60 thousand direct and indirect employees and 3 million users, is undergoing a massive process of modernization, to compete with the European systems of health and Welfare.
In view of the start of the spa bonus, however, there is no shortage of controversy. In a note of 27 October, the consumerism consumerism complains that «today numerous spa establishments, as reported by various consumers, are still not prepared for the spa bonus and do not know how to provide information to citizens. It is also not clear how the spa facilities will handle applications, on the basis of which criteria they will forward reservations and who will ensure that users’ rights are respected, to avoid abuse. To this situation is added the risk of price increases »notes Consumerism.
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