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EHTTA will be attending the world’s largest tourism fair with seven of its members and with the Great Spa Towns of Europe as a special partner.

The world’s largest tourism trade fair, ITB Berlin, is taking place in Germany’s capital from March 5 to 7, 2024. At ITB Berlin over 5.500 exhibitors from 165 countries will be present, welcoming travel trade visitors over the three days of the event, and also online.

The European Historic Thermal Towns Association (EHTTA) will be present in the Medical & Health Pavilion, located in hall 3.1 as one of the major partners in this part of ITB Berlin. Several member towns and regions from the Association have taken the opportunity to be present in person with EHTTA, and to engage in meetings and presentations.

For EHTTA President Riccardo Mortandello this international travel fair is the first major event for him in his new role at the head of the Association. He describes its importance for European Historic Thermal Towns:

“EHTTA plays a fundamental role in promoting the cultural and environmental excellence of our destinations. Our towns have always been places of culture and creativity, great architecture and impressive heritage, while at the same time being health destinations, bringing together tourism, sport, health and well-being. The challenge is to also present all this from a new and alternative perspective, especially for younger generations, linking it to cultural tourism.”

With the slogan “Immerse yourself in the spa culture of Europe” the stand will attract visitors with its eye-catching pictures and a range of activities including the creation of and atmosphere of true wellbeing.

“Our positive experience last year as a major partner in the Medical & Health Segment of ITB Berlin encouraged us to develop the visibility of European spa towns even further for 2024. Thanks to seven engaged and enthusiastic members and the Great Spa Towns of Europe as co-exhibitors we are able to present our thermal destinations and the European Spa Culture in an even bigger way this year,” says Executive Director Simone Zagrodnik.

“Not only do we have a bigger and even more impressive stand, we have many activities which will certainly add to the attractiveness and appeal of our stand. It’s going to be a very exciting fair for us this year!”

Montegrotto Terme’s “Aquaemotion”, will demonstrate aqua fitness elements several times a day introducing visitors to their daily work as well as offering them the opportunity to test thermal mud treatments.

At a special water bar water will be available from two of the Catalan spa towns’ water brands: Font Vella and Catalan Vichy. These famous brands are joined by water from Budapest, organised by Budapest Spas.

An invitation to stop and rest in one of many deck chairs is offered at the “Spa Cinema”, where visitors can relax and enjoy videos from a great variety of thermal destinations all over Europe. The Spa Cinema is supported by the Austrian spa town of Baden bei Wien.

The Medical & Health Pavilion offers a wide range of presentations and panel discussions, where EHTTA and its partners will be present several times:

On Wednesday, 6th March it is about sustainability in spa towns:

First Budapest Spas will take the floor, speaking about heritage and responsibility, followed by the panel asking
“Is Sustainable Tourism the best kept secret of European Spa Towns?”. The Great Spa Towns of Europe will introduce the topic with a keynote presentation from Secretary General, Chiara Ronchini, followed by a conversation among FITReisen and thermal destinations Baden bei Wien, Catalonia Thermal Towns and Slovenian Spas.

On Thursday, 7th the focus is on health tourism, sport and fitness and for this session, the European Historic Thermal Towns Association together with FITReisen has invited experts to speak about the tight connection between those elements. Montegrotto Terme, Hungary Tourism Association and HTI Partner from Croatia are all involved in the panel discussion, which promises to be very informative!

A presentation about the work and the benefits of thermal water by Aquaemotion from Montegrotto Terme will follow. The afternoon will be wrapped-up with the “FITReisen Health & Talk”, inviting experts to speak about the trends and needs of customers.

At its General Assembly, held in Budapest last week, members of the European Historic Thermal Towns Association (EHTTA) elected Riccardo Mortandello, Mayor of Montegrotto Terme in Italy to be their new President, the fourth person to hold this office since the foundation of EHTTA almost exactly 14 years ago.

Mr Mortandello has been the Mayor of Montegrotto Terme, in the Province of Padua, since 2016. He is also the Vice President of ANCOT (Associazione Nazionale Comuni Termali), the Italian Association of Thermal Towns. He is a communications and marketing expert, and is the founder of the tourist destination
“Termae Colli Euganei” which has been developed successfully to promote both Montegrotto Terme and Abano Terme and the region, which is not far from Venice.

In his first speech to EHTTA Members, the Association’s new President played tribute to past Presidents of the Association, Christian Corne, Giuseppe Bellandi and Manuel Baltar, and to the Vice Presidents of the Association as well as the Executive Director, Simone Zagrodnik. He pledged his support to members and to the Association, before continuing:

“As we know, the thermal sector is various and complex, and the challenge to aspire to, therefore, lies precisely in networking, that is, in the creation of a spa network of contacts with common objectives on a professional, cultural and tourist level. Collaboration between all members of the network is therefore fundamental, offering support to those who need it and sharing knowledge and experiences; develop a structured governance system that allows the involvement of European institutions, individual member states, regional, provincial and local bodies, trade associations and consortia with territorial interest.”

Mr Mortandello believes that:

“EHTTA can play a fundamental role in promoting the cultural and environmental excellence of our territories. Our towns have always been places of culture and creativity, great architecture and impressive heritage, while at the same time being health destinations, bringing together tourism, sport, health and well-being. The challenge is to propose all this also from a new and alternative perspective, especially for the young generations, linking it to cultural tourism.”

After calling EHTTA Members to support lobbying at the European level in support of the thermal sector, he
finished:

“I am convinced that together we will be able to achieve great results, because our thermal realities have always been an added value to our territories, which must be preserved and which we should be proud of!”

The EHTTA Executive Council also elected its fifth Vice President, Isidre Pineda, Mayor of the Catalonian town of Caldes de Montbui. He completes the group of Vice Presidents, which consists of Eric Brut from Route des Villes d’Eaux du Massif Central, Markos Danas from the Hellenic Association of Municipalities with Thermal Springs, Isabelle Grégoire from Spa and Victor Leal from Sao Pedro do Sul.

At the General Assembly in Budapest, Viterbo in Italy was accepted as a new member, bringing the total number of members to 51 in 20 countries by January 2024.

The next General Assembly of the European Historic Thermal Towns Association will be held in the Imereti Region in Georgia from 22-24 April 2024.

The European Historic Thermal Towns Association (EHTTA) held its second International Congress on Thermal Tourism in Nancy (France) last week. With the participation of UNWTO and hosted by the Métropole Grand Nancy and Fédération Thermale et Climatique Française, “The Thermal Congress” was a great success, attracting more than 400 delegates from more than 20 countries around the world to meet, network and discuss different aspects of thermal tourism in Europe and the world.

The International Thermal Congress was arranged to coincide with the French “Meetings of Spa Therapy and Wellness”, which included one day of meetings of French institutions and associations from the Thermalism sector.

Ion Vilcu, Director of the UNWTO Affiliate Members Department, congratulated the organizers of the Thermal Congress and the hosts for their commitment and partnership with UNWTO. He underlined EHTTA’s valuable membership, “which has had an essential contribution on placing the issue of Thermal Tourism in a priority position on the UNWTO agenda. This Congress underscores the importance of our collective mission to unlock the potential of thermal resources for the well-being of residents and visitors alike, while advancing in the evolution of thermal destinations towards sustainability.”

In his welcome speech, EHTTA Vice President Eric Brut reminded thermal destinations and spa towns all over the world to be proud of their special characteristics and said: “We need to let each spa define its own path, write its own story, with the profile of each spa ranging from the most medical to the most developed tourist destination thanks to its sports, wellness, cultural, heritage, gastronomic, outdoor and events activities.” He also stressed the need for attracting new customers (for example younger and more family-oriented clients) by making the destinations and towns more attractive.

The Thermal Congress 2023 was a one-day event, with an extensive and varied programme featuring five panels.
A total of 23 high-level speakers from seven countries with Japan and the USA among them, discussed cross-border cooperation, the potential of a European thermal observatory, thermal tourism around the globe, the assets of natural mineral water and the challenges related to energy management and sustainability strategies.

Representatives from other important European associations such as the Great Spa Towns of Europe and the European Spas Association contributed to the topics discussed. Moderator Julie Merckling ensured that the delegates heard an interesting debate, and kept the discussions on track.

Following the success of the Thermal Congress, both EHTTA and UNWTO are aiming to hold the next Thermal Congress in two years’ time, in 2025.

Reflecting on the origin and evolution of historic thermal towns

The European Historic Thermal Towns Association (EHTTA), will host the next European Thermal Heritage Day with the support of the Mondariz Balneario Municipality, the Rural Development Group Condado Paradanta, and the Balneario de Mondariz and Aguas de Mondariz. This annual event will take place from
11th – 15th October in Mondariz-Balneario (Galicia, Spain). A varied programme of conferences, visits and parallel activities to reflect on therapeutic landscape in thermal towns, coincides with the 150th anniversary of the Declaration of Public Utility of mineral waters of Mondariz.

EHTTA’s 6th European Thermal Heritage Day will begin on 11 October, with an opening ceremony which will include important local representatives from the Municipality and the organising committee.

During the panel, as part of a hybrid event, experts from Europe and America will analyse the origin, structuring elements in urban development and future perspectives of four contrasting thermal towns: Mondariz-Balneario (Spain), Caldas da Rainha (Portugal), Spa (Belgium) and Saratoga Springs (USA).

Presentations will be given by the following experts, followed by a Q&A session.

• Mario Crecente (EHTTA Scientific Committee President),
• Jorge Mangorrinha (PhD, Centro de Estudos Globais da Universidade Aberta),
• Anne Pirard (Spa local site manager for WHS Great Spa Towns of Europe)
• Samantha Bosshart (Executive Director of the Saratoga Springs Preservation Foundation).

Finally Álvaro Bonet will speak live from Madrid to present the figure and works of Antonio Palacios,one of the most important architects in Spain during the first half of the 20th century. He was responsible for some of the most representative buildings in the capital, and played a key role in the design of Mondariz-Balneario.

Following the presentations on the first day, as part of a wider programme of visits and events, there will be a guided tour to the therapeutic landscape of Mondariz, visiting its fountains, buildings, gardens and parks and learning more about the myths and legends in the company of a local tour guide.
Full details of the whole programme including the exploration of the Therapeutic Landscape can be found in the Notes to Editors below.

Website: https://historicthermaltowns.eu/european-thermal-heritage-day

– ENDS –

For further information please contact:

Simone Zagrodnik, EHTTA Executive Director: simone.zagrodnik@ehtta.eu

Historic Thermal Towns on social media

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@ThermalTowns | European-Historic-Thermal-Towns-Association

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Notes for Editors:

1. EHTTA is a membership organisation representing 50 members in 18 European countries and has two
international partners.
2. EHTTA was certified as a Cultural Route of the Council of Europe in 2010 and is one of 48 Cultural Routes of
the Council of Europe which provide a wealth of leisure and educational activities for all citizens across
Europe and beyond and are key resources for responsible tourism and sustainable development. The
certification “Cultural Route of the Council of Europe” is a guarantee of excellence.
3. EHTTA was founded in 2009 with six Founding Members: Acqui Terme (Italy), Bath (UK), Ourense (Spain),
Salsomaggiore Terme (Italy), Spa (Belgium) and Vichy (France).
4. Since 2019 the association has been an Affiliate Member of UNWTO. In September 2022, EHTTA signed the
Glasgow Declaration on Climate Change in Tourism.
5. EHTTA’s European Thermal Heritage Day has been recognized as an example of Best Practice by the
European Institute of Cultural Routes (2018)

Additional Information on the Conference Programme (Oct 12–15)

October 12th

A complete programme of activities, visits and workshops will allow participants to discover the natural and
cultural values of Mondariz Balneario:

• Morning walk along the river to the Troncoso fountain, to discover its history and learn about its
  restoration.
• On the way back to the hotel, a local guide will present all the secrets of the town’s villas and
  hotels.
• Afternoon: archaeological visit to Castro de Troña as well as to other nearby points of interest.
• The day ends in the spa gardens, with a botanical workshop and a theatrical visit based on the life
  in the spa at the beginning of the 20th century.

October 13th

An introduction to some of the main attractions of the Condado-Paradanta destination, where Mondariz
Balneario is located:

• Aguas de Mondariz bottling plant (with the director of the company)
• Interpretation Centre of Wine and Lamprey, two of the main local gastronomic products.
• Guided tour and cocktail at a local winery
• Science Museum Wine, one of the largest spaces for disseminating viticulture and oenology in
  Spain.
• Finally, a dramatized visit will recreate some of the most important historical events of Condada
  Paradanta.

October 14th and 15th :

The visit concludes with a complete relaxation programme at Balneario de Mondariz through the “Mondariz 150-year special programme” made up of private aquagym classes, thermal circuits and other complementary activities, such as the buggy circuit around the golf course and an initiation class in this discipline.