European Historic Thermal Towns Association (EHTTA)
Historic Thermal Towns
The impressive Nouveau building of Berzieri Spa, in Salsomaggiore Terme – one of the most famous spas of Italy, will be the venue chosen for the next General Assembly of the European Historic Thermal Towns Association on October 19th. Delegates from member spa towns will attend this two-days meeting, a great opportunity for networking and sharing experiences but also to follow up last news on the development of EHHTA work programme.
The European Historic Thermal Towns Association (EHTTA) took part last week in two important worldwide tourism exhibitions: the International Exhibition of Thermal Tourism, Health and Wellness Termatalia, in Coahuila, Mexico; and the 6th Business Conference “’Tourism Market of Southeast Europe – SEET 2016”, in Belgrade, Serbia. The Association was invited in order to bring its expertise in managing a cultural route certified by the Council of Europe that comprises almost 40 destinations in 13 different countries. Two great opportunities in terms of visibility, allowed the Association not only to exchange and learn about experiences of health tourism in South America, Asia and Europe, but also to meet and share its passion and understanding of Europe’s unique thermal spa culture with a great number of experts and stakeholders.
Termatalia is one of the biggest specific professional forums for thermal and wellness tourism today, acting as a “bridge” between Europe and South America connecting spa destinations. It’s not the first time that the Association has attended this fair, as once every two years it is held in Ourense (Spain) – one of EHTTA’s founder members- but this edition’s figures, with more than 30 countries represented, has bena major hit in terms of visibility for the network, participating not only as exhibitor but also as a key-note speaker in the 11th International Meeting of Thermal Cities.
On the other hand, representatives from EHTTA also travelled to Belgrade, Serbia, to attend the 6th Business ‘Tourism Market of Southeast Europe”, an event endorsed by the national Ministry of Trade, Tourism and Telecommunications of the Serbia Republic. EHTTA was invited as part of the panel “Competitiveness of Thermal, Medical, Wellness & Spa Regional Tourist Offer” and also participated in the dedicated roundtable: “Economic development and promotion of Thermal Destinations of South East Europe”. It was an opportunity to present the network to the government of the Republic of Serbia, state member of the Council of Europe, and to strengthen cooperation with organizers who are planning future editions of the fair.
The European Association of Historic Thermal Towns will be a partner for the upcoming World Hydrothermal Organisation Congress, that will take place the 20-21 October in Levico Terme, Italy. This meeting, under the topic “Thermalism in the third Millenium” will be open to all the organizations and spa centres operating worldwide in the industry, providing an open forum for discussing new challenging facing the sector. President of EHTTA Scientific Committee, Paul Simons will be a speaker on recent innovations in spa architecture, the EHTTA President, Mr Giuseppe Bellandi will also attend the conference.
Check complete agenda for the OMtH Congress at its website: www.omth.com
MEPS from Italy, France, Greece, United Kingdom, Czech Republic, Croatia or Portugal, among others, attended last 15th September a meeting at the European Parliament in Strasbourg where the European Historic Thermal Towns (EHTTA) had the opportunity to present its work as a Cultural Route certified by the Council of Europe. The international non-profit association introduced its latest project, the Thermal Atlas; a ambitious initiative on the study of European thermal culture developed by EHTTA Scientific Committee.
This presentation will be an opportunity to launch EHTTA new brochure, showing the versatility, creativity and aspirations of this international non-profit association. Communications Manager for EHTTA, Catherine Lloyd said, “We needed a new brochure to reflect the fact that EHTTA has grown from 26 members to nearly 40 members in the last three years, and to include our newest members. We wanted to go for a look which would really show off our towns – their history, architecture, culture and of course the thermal water sources themselves, and we feel that this brochure, designed and printed by Buckland Media in the UK will be a fantastic advert for the Association and its members.”
The presentation to MEPs will take place on Thursday 15th September at the European Parliament Building in Strasbourg, and is hosted by MEP Francisco Millán Mon, co-President of the Intergroup “European Tourism Development, Cultural Heritage, Ways of St James and other European Cultural Routes”, MEP Silvia Costa, President of the Committee on Culture & Education of the European Parliament, and by Mr Giuseppe Bellandi, President of EHTTA and Mayor of Montecatini.
Between 19 and 28 August EHTTA member Caldas da Rainha (Portugal) held the Frutos Fair 2016, one of its most popular festivals during the year. The European Historic Thermal Towns was invited to join this event that celebrates the best of regional horticulture industry and local cuisine, offering cookings, demonstrations, workshops but also music and family entertainment. Committed to the promotion of healthy lifestyles and wellbeing, the fair featured a health&wellbeing space where EHTTA had an information stand, showcasing the wide and rich spa culture this Association promotes across Europe.
The key role that historic thermal towns should play in the construction of a European tourism destination committed with sustainable development, culture and well being will be discussed at the European Parliament in Strasbourg next 15th September. The European Association of Historic Thermal Towns is organizing a presentation hosted by MEP Millán Mon, co-chair of the European Parliament Intergroup on European tourism development, cultural heritage and the Way of St James and other Cultural Routes, and MEP Silvia Costa, President of the European Parliament Committee on Culture and Education.
The presentation will increase the visibility of an international network which has been working for understanding and safeguarding of European thermal heritage for almost seven years, and will be open to Members of EU Parliament, tourism stakeholders, researchers and journalists, as well as delegations from the EHTTA member cities. Representatives from the Council of Europe and the European Institute of Cultural Routes will also take part, supporting a network which in 2010 was certified as Cultural Route by the Council of Europe.
At the event, EHTTA will showcase the very first pilot of the Thermal Atlas project, an ambitious initiative for the study and dissemination of the Thermal Heritage of Europe. Lead by this association and developed by its Scientific Committee, the Thermal Atlas aims to become the most complete resource on thermalism in Europe, building an essential database on the natural, cultural and intangible resources that have made of thermal towns key actors in the history and identity of Europe, places devoted to well-being, health, culture, art and landscape.
At the EHTTA Executive Council held in Paris on September 30th, representatives from this network had the opportunity to meet delegates from the new board of the European Spas Association(ESPA), in order to explore new opportunities for a future partnership.
Congratulations to the members of EHTTA which have been proposed for the serial transnational World Heritage nomination for the “Great Spas of Europe”! Since the idea was first proposed in 2010, the members of the International Steering Group, and the International Working Group for the Great Spas of Europe project have been working hard to determine the criteria for the nomination, and to decide which spas should go forward to the next step of the UNESCO World Heritage nomination process.
The “Great Spas of Europe” are those which were at their most internationally famous, and which were culturally, medically and technically of European importance from the 18th century to the early 20th century, and which still continue as important spa towns today.
Studies which have been made by the International Steering Group of the Great Spas of Europe during the last five years have shown how important Europe’s spa towns have been in the development of health systems, communications systems, and of course the tourist industry. They have also highlighted the development and design of the “therapeutic landscape” in spa towns as part of the traditional cure – a tradition which continues to this day in many spa towns.
The EHTTA members which will go forward to the proposed serial nomination include Baden-Baden, Bath, Karlovy Vary, Montecatini Terme, Spa and Vichy. They are joined by Bad Ems, Bad Kissingen, Baden bei Wien, Františkovy Lázně, and Mariánské Lázně. We look forward to hearing more news about the nomination process as it progresses, although the results of the application will not be known until 2018 at the earliest.
Editors’ note: UNESCO, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation, is responsible for the World Heritage List which now contains over 1000 sites globally, each of which has demonstrated, under the criteria contained in the World Heritage Convention, that they demonstrate qualities and attributes of Outstanding Universal Value.
The next General Assembly of the European Historic Thermal Towns Association (EHTTA) will be held on April 14th in Karlovy Vary at the Hotel Imperial, one of Europe’s most impressive spa hotels, built in 1912. An international delegation of 50 delegates from nearly 30 member spa towns will attend this event, held over 2 days, and comprising the General Assembly, workshops on tourism and communication and a study tour of the Czech Golden Triangle of thermal spa towns.
EHTTA, which represents nearly 40 spa towns and regions across Europe holds its General Assemblies twice a year in order to network between the members and to further develop its work programme. These meetings are also an opportunity to learn more about member towns, and EHTTA is particularly pleased to be able to go on a study tour on this occasion, to learn more about the spa towns of Karlovy Vary, Mariánské Lázně and Františkovy Lázně and Loket – and area known as the “Spa Triangle”.
President of EHTTA and Mayor of Montecatini Terme, Mr Giuseppe Bellandi said: “This is EHTTA’s first visit to the Czech Republic and to the Karlovy Vary Region, and I am very pleased that the Association is able to hold a General Assembly here in one of Europe’s most famous spa towns. We are looking forward to finding out more about the region and its heritage during our study visit, particularly about the many sources of water which made the region so popular for spa visitors. We are grateful to the Mayors of Karlovy Vary, Mariánské Lázně and Františkovy Lázně , and all the staff of the Municipality who have worked so hard to make EHTTA’s visit here a success.”
This is an exciting time for the Association, as EHTTA will welcome several new members during the General Assembly, and will discuss several more applications for membership.