All posts by : EHTTA

EHTTA’s COVID-19 impact survey

As the Europe-wide lockdown stopped thermal towns throughout our network, we wanted to find out what was happening in each town, and what, if anything could be done to help.  A survey was sent to all the Members, and over a period of 6 weeks, from 17th April, we received 26 replies, representing 41% of the membership, and all of the towns in the Great Spas of Europe.

There were several insights from the results, some of which may need to be studied further, and these can be found in detail on the new sharing platform.

The survey highlighted a general lack of awareness of EHTTA’s online social media activities, and showed that very few of the respondents are engaging in sharing this content, and less than 2/3 had made colleagues aware of EHTTA’s social media accounts, even though respondents also wanted to see more online activity, lobbying and sharing of best practice.

The vast majority (83%) had to discontinue some projects temporarily.  Loss of private and public funding was an issue for 30-40% of respondents, while approx 60% were looking for new funding and/or applying for emergency government funded where it was offered.

Many described springs and taps as being open but bathing establishments were on the whole closed. Montecatini Terme and Daruvar reported some limited facilities being open.

Jobs, festivals and events, and income (eg from ticket sales) are perceived to be at the most risk – thermal and other built heritage seem to be at the least risk

19 respondents gave  a free text answer about how thermal towns can lead the recovery from COVID-19.  84% of these mentioned health in their answer.

In terms of the important markets before the crisis – 60% said within our own country was “most important” and 50%  said the local region was “moderately important”.  Europe had some level of importance for everyone, other world markets less so.      The responses to where the most important markets are likely to be after the pandemic show the importance of “proximity tourism” – within our own country, the local region and Europe being most important.  NB not all respondents answered all of this question.

Hotels, Events, Festivals and Gastronomy are the worst affected parts of the spa town ecosystem now. Sporting events seem most likely to lead the recovery.  Both Built Heritage & Museums and Thermal Water facilities (medical and leisure) seemed to score equal to each other in both parts of the question.

EHTTA’s Executive Council met virtually

The Executive Council held its first online meeting on 18th  May, with members joining via Zoom from all corners of the network.  The meeting focussed heavily on the impact of the pandemic on EHTTA finances, and what that would mean for the Association’s budget.  A new reduced “emergency”  budget was discussed to take the Association through the rest of the year while planning for reduced income as well as reduced expenditure.  The Council also heard reports from Communications, the Scientific Committee and the EHTTA Co-ordinator, and discussed future events, particularly the European Thermal Heritage Day on 16^th October in Baden-Baden, and Saratoga Springs in 2021.

Budapest is sending a message to the world’s major cities via the illuminated windows of empty hotels

The Municipality of Budapest and the Hungarian Hotel and Restaurant Association are launching a joint campaign. After dark, the windows of Budapest’s empty hotels display the message “4U!”. The For You! message is displayed using the lighting in certain hotel rooms. Through this small but easily understood gesture, Budapest wishes to stand in solidarity with other cities that are similarly affected by the crisis caused by the coronavirus. The fact is that the tourism and catering industry shutdown, curfew restrictions and all-pervading uncertainty are equally taking their toll on every large city, company, citizen and those in charge of operating cities under these extraordinary circumstances. The 4U! message is for them, too.

The people who initiated the campaign would like to call attention to the fact that cities and city dwellers will only be able to overcome this crisis together, by looking out for each other and acting in a tolerant and empathetic way. Light, and the attention people give each other, are giving hope to a lot of people and help them persevere in this tough period.

The people behind the #Light4Eachother, #Light4U international campaign expect other cities to take on the message so that this kind gesture’s call for sympathy can be disseminated through social media.

From the last weekend of March, the 4U! message appeared in Budapest’s windows after dark, at 7:30 p.m. So far, the following hotels in Budapest have joined the illuminated message campaign:

• Budapest Marriott Hotel
• Intercontinental Budapest
• Sofitel Budapest Chain Bridge
• Hilton Budapest
• Kempinski Hotel Corvinus
• Ritz Carlton Budapest
• Hotel Moments Budapest
• Four Seasons Hotel Gresham Palace
• Hotel Clark Budapest
• Mercure Budapest Korona
• Corinthia Hotel Budapest
• Danubius Hotel Budapest (Körszálló)

The Municipality of Budapest and the Hungarian Hotel and Restaurant Association are still looking for new-joiners. The initiators would like to ask participants and those wishing to express their solidarity this way to post their own pictures of the hotels or the pictures that are attached on social media with the following hashtags: #Light4Eachother, #Light4U.

Photo credit: Tamás Lénárd

EHTTA has appointed the future full time Executive Director, Mrs Simone Zagrodnik.

The European Historic Thermal Towns Association is pleased to announce the appointment of a new Executive Director beginning in August 2020, Mrs Simone Zagrodnik.

Simone has been attending EHTTA events since 2011 as the Head of Marketing for Wiesbaden Congress and Marketing, where she has worked for the last fifteen years. She is well-known to EHTTA members and its partners, having been involved in the life of the Association and represented EHTTA at international tourism fairs such as ITB and WTM, and represented the Association at conferences such as HTI.

We are delighted to welcome her as EHTTA’s Executive Director and wish her every success in the future, in this important role, which she will start on 1st August 2020.

Regional training exercise for the Cultural Routes in Azerbaijan
The Ministry of Culture in Azerbaijan (EHTTA Associate Member), and the European Institute of Cultural Routes in Luxembourg invited us to take part in a Regional training exercise for the Cultural Routes in Azerbaijan, on 28th and 29th February in the capital Baku.
The EHTTA Co-ordinator, Catherine Lloyd was asked to moderate a panel of speakers from the different routes involved in the training, the Route of Olives, Iter Vitis, The Rock Art Trail and the Route of Historic Thermal Towns. Interestingly the panellists were all private sector partners, who are often the ones at the forefront of the production of the olives, wine etc which are celebrated as part of the Cultural Heritage of the Routes.
Catherine also assisted Carolina Clark, the Project Manager of the European Institute of Cultural Routes to deliver some training about how to “be” a Cultural Route of the Council of Europe, using several of EHTTA’s projects and initiatives as examples of good practice.
The hospitality shown by Gunel Aslanova, representative of the Ministry of Culture of Azerbaijan was second to none!

Executive Council in Paris, 22nd of January The EHTTA Council met in Paris on 22nd January 2020 at the French Ministry of Culture, the first one of 2020 and the first one with EHTTA’s new President and Vice Presidents. Representatives from the Ministry gave some presentations about the French Cultural Routes programme, and heard about EHTTA and some of its initiatives and plans for the future.
The main discussions centred around the new EHTTA Structure, and the job description and interview process for the new Executive Director. It is expected that the new Executive Director will be in post by the 1st August, and a full announcement about the outcome of those interviews will be made to EHTTA members as soon as it’s possible to do so.
Much of what was discussed at the meeting – communications, exhibitions, future plans and meetings has had to be put on hold until the end of the Coronavirus. Future meetings will probably have to be held online – we are all working out how to keep EHTTA operational and promoting its members through these difficult times!

Thermalism and Human Rights – the conection is EHTTA! New EHTTA President José Manuel Baltar Blanco has released a video to celebrate the 10th Anniversary of the Founding of EHTTA, the European Historic Thermal Towns Association, at date which falls on Human Rights Day and the 70th Anniversary of the singing of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. EHTTA is a network which now represents over 50 members in 17 countries, having grown from the six original founding members, which include the Spanish thermal town of Ourense in Galicia, Spain, where Mr Baltar is the President of the Deputación Ourense. Speaking in front of the piping hot As Burgas fountain in Ourense, Mr Baltar said “Human Rights Day is particularly relevant to us because the thermal spa towns of Europe were the “Cafés of Europe”, places where all levels of society could mix, exchange ideas and even sow the seeds of social change. The “rules” of our spa towns ensured civilised conduct, and over the centuries they have played a leading role in fostering peace, co-operation and creativity, protecting the built and natural environment, and promoting sustainable cultural development.” Having worked together and grown for the last ten years, EHTTA is now ready to embrace the future, and to continue to work to promote the concept and values of thermalism throughout Europe and at the highest levels. Mr Baltar said, “ I believe that thermalism is a true European value and is at the heart of our continued well-being as a continent. The way our towns developed around our unique, almost magical health-giving thermal springs; the way they developed infrastructure – beautiful and functional buildings designed to care for people as well as to entertain them; and the way the towns drew people from far and wide across all levels of society to meet, inspire each other and to create new forms of society – this is thermalism. We will continue to give voice to thermalism, which is the voice of tradition and well-being, as well as the voice of future generations. It’s a thermalism that is a true European value, and which we will continue to protect as a human right.”

Link to the video

The most famous little man in Brussels, the Belgian capital, joined the growing community of “Bathrobe Addicts©” in time for the EHTTA 10th Anniversary celebrations! Created in the spa towns of the Massif Central (France), the Bathrobe Addicts© community now has a base in Belgium where the campaign is being developed in partnership with the Tourist Office of Spa and the Association of the Route des Villes d’eaux du Massif Central. EHTTA’s 50 spa towns represented by their delegates and elected representatives were in Brussels on the 9th October in order to celebrate European thermal culture and the thermal way of life. A complete outfit comprising minature bathrobe, slippers and bag, branded with the Bathrobe Addicts© logo was presented to members of the Order of the Mannekin-Pis at the Town Hall in the Grand Place. After the ceremony, EHTTA Members, all dressed in the iconic white bathrobes, joined a marching band to parade to the site of the famous statue where his new outfit was unveiled and his special song was sung by everyone! The bathrobe, which is a simple but effective emblem for all spa towns which are the epitome ofwellness and thermal experiences, is now the 1302nd costume in the Manneken-Pis costume museum in Brussels! Find out more about the brand:https://www.lesaccrosdupeignoir.com/

Tourism is an important driver of economic and social development. This is why we, the fifty undersigned European tourism stakeholders, representing all aspects of the EU tourism sector, appael for greater recognition of tourism in the new European Commission and the creation of a Commission portfolio on “Transport and Tourism”.

Find out more

EHTTA will be one of the official partners of the European Health Tourism Summit to be held in Brussels on Wednesday, 20th November 2019. Mr. Manuel Baltar Blanco, EHTTA president, will participate in the panel discussion at the European Parliament building.

The Belgian EHTTA member, the City of Spa, will provide a tour for interested delegates on 21st November.