(Source： Gaia Inc.）
On May 24, 2025, Gaia Inc.’s hospitality brand Gaia Resort officially received the world’s first Ospitalità Diffusa international certification from Albergo Diffuso International for its property “Gaia Resort Zao Sansuien.” At the same time, another facility located in Murata Town, Miyagi Prefecture, named “Kura no Machi Gaia Resort,” was registered under the startup certification category (pre-certification region).
Albergo Diffuso, originating in Italy, is a decentralized accommodation model. As of 2025, 150 regions in Italy and 16 regions in other countries have received certification. In Japan, Yakage Town in Okayama Prefecture was the first certified region. Now, Gaia Resort Zao Sansuien has become the second certified area in Japan, the first in the Tohoku region, and notably the world’s first to be officially recognized as an Ospitalità Diffusa site.
The Ospitalità Diffusa model extends beyond accommodation by integrating welfare, healthcare, agriculture, education, natural resources, and culture into a comprehensive form of hospitality. Gaia Resort Zao Sansuien is the first formally certified region to implement this expanded model. Additionally, it has been evaluated as one of the world’s largest certified areas in terms of both designated zones and facility scale.
(Source： Gaia Inc.）
At the certification ceremony held at “Higurashi-an,” a renovated traditional house within the Zao Sansuien premises, the president of Albergo Diffuso International remarked that while European Albergo Diffuso models emphasize hospitality for tourists, Gaia Resort has fully integrated this with the “Zao Forest of Welfare Concept“—a community development initiative centered on regional welfare and sustainability. He stated that it is “undoubtedly the most advanced Ospitalità Diffusa in the world.”
(Source： Gaia Inc.）
The Gaia Group upholds the corporate philosophy of “Realizing Sustainable Local Communities” and supports the “Zao Forest of Welfare Concept.” Based on this philosophy, it promotes regional development by organically linking real estate, tourism, welfare, food services, and agriculture. The group actively utilizes local resources and collaborates with residents to build a sustainable society through various community-based initiatives.
The “Zao Forest of Welfare Concept” is a town-building initiative involving corporations, organizations, local residents, and municipalities who share the same vision. It aims to create a community where “both the elderly and the young, people with and without disabilities, can live safely,” while also promoting a society in which “everyone can fulfill a role that suits them in their daily lives.” Under this concept, affiliated organizations have opened facilities such as nursing care and rehabilitation centers, employment support centers for people with disabilities, special elderly nursing homes, and group homes—helping to establish a safety net and generate employment within the region.
(Source： Gaia Inc.）
Gaia Inc. also implements various community-based initiatives such as converting vacant homes and villas into tourism assets, promoting welfare-agriculture collaboration for employment support, partnering with medical and welfare institutions for extended-stay assistance, and operating a relocation consultation office to foster connected communities. The company runs nature education programs using its own forest through the “Gaia Forest: Creating a Millennium Forest Project” and utilizes spring water in the “Gaia Water Project.” Moreover, it is developing healing and learning spaces that combine retreat facilities with nature-based education.
At “Sakai Coffee Zao Sansuien Branch,” a local café, Gaia has launched a morning service to monitor and support elderly people living alone. As of May 23, the café also hosts a children’s cafeteria to combat social isolation and poverty while strengthening community ties.
Gaia’s president has stated that the company is building a new Gaia Resort model by integrating the Albergo Diffuso philosophy—“treating the entire community as a hotel, operated with local residents, offering stays that harmonize with culture, life, and nature”—with the “Zao Forest of Welfare Concept,” which is rooted in the belief that “everyone should have a role and live safely in a coexistent community.”
Looking ahead, Gaia plans to expand from Zao Town in Miyagi Prefecture to the entire Tohoku region and beyond to other mountainous and regional cities throughout Japan. By aligning with local resources and welfare issues, it aims to roll out this multi-site model and redefine tourism as a “starting point for building sustainable local communities,” ultimately positioning it as a Japanese-born model for sustainable town development to be shared with the world.