International Congress on Thermal Tourism in Pictures
OFFICIAL OPENING CEREMONY
Introduced by Emma González, Managing Director of INORDE
Manuel Baltar – President, European Historic Thermal Towns Association and President of Ourense Province
Miguel Mirones – President, ICTE and Spanish Spa Association
Thierry Dubois – President, ESPA European Spa Association – introduced by Czilla Mezosi
Stefano Dominioni – Executive Secretary, Enlarged Partial Agreement on Cultural Routes, Council of Europe
Stefan Szirucsek – Chairman of the Board, Great Spa Towns of Europe Association represented by Paul Simons, General Secretary
Prof. Francisco Maraver – International Society of Medical Hydrology (ISMH)
Gonzalo Pérez Jácome – Mayor, Ourense
Mar de Miguel, President of the Board of the Affiliate Members of UNWTO
Alfonso Rueda – President, Xunta de Galicia
A traditional Galician Piper concluded the opening ceremony.
HERITAGE PANEL
Moderated by Mario Crecente - President of the EHTTA Scientific Committee
Speeches:
The European Spa Phenomenon – UNESCO and the Great Spa Towns of Europe – Paul Simons, Secretary General of the Great Spa Towns of Europe.
The Revitalisation of Saratoga Spa State Park – Alane Ball Chinian, Director of the Saratoga Capital District Region, New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation.
Reviving the Sidi Harazem thermal baths complex, Fez (Morocco) – Dana Salama, Architect at Aziza Chaouni Projects.
Analysis of the role of cultural heritage for thermal tourism: a case study of Huaqing palace in Xi’an (China) – Feng Jian, Vice President ICOMOS International Conservation Center Xi’an.
Delegates also heard presentations by young people from the Baile Herculane project in Romania and the student exchange between Pforzheim in Germany and A Coruña in Galicia.
TOURISM PANEL
Moderated by Emma González, Managing Director of INORDE
Speeches:
Ourense: Thermal Capital of Galicia – Armando Ojea Bouzo, Vice Mayor of Ourense
Thermal Destinations in Argentina – Óscar Suárez, Director Markets, Inprotur (Instituto Nacional de Promoción Turística de Argentina)
Budapest: 150 years of unified existence – Ildikó Szuts (Hungary), CEO Budapest Spas cPlc
Right: The EHTTA President, Board and guests inspect a surprise new source of thermal water in the Provincial Palace, which was the setting for the second session of the Congress.
EXPERIENCE PANEL
Moderated by Simone Zagrodnik, EHTTA Executive Director
Speeches:
Converting Experiences to Transformations: do you also hum tunes in a thermal pool? – László Puczkó (Hungary), Health Tourism Worldwide Life Founder
InnovaSPA project: opportunities for better spa public policies, exchanges of good practices on innovative thermal offers and results of the cooperation – Marion Vansingle (France), Project coordinator Thermauvergne
Caldaria Group – Javier Soto (Spain), General Director Caldaria Group
Staying at an international health spa hotel – Boris Bánovsky, Medical Director at the Piestany Spa Slovakia, Ensana Hotels
Following a lively discussion with panel members, Nava Castro Domínguez, Director of Galicia Tourism gave an address on Crossing European Cultural Routes
WORKSHOPS
“Promoting Destination Europe – Co-branding Promotional Campaigns Programme 2022-2023”
Presenter: Miguel Gallego, Head of Marketing and Communication, European Travel Commission
“The Cultural Routes of the Council of Europe: Promoting European values, heritage and sustainable tourism”
Presenter: Stefano Dominioni, Executive Secretary of the Enlarged Partial Agreement on Cultural Routes and Director of the European Institute of Cultural Routes
“European Next Generation Funds: Opportunities for tourism”
Presenter: Ana Muñoz Llabres, Secretariat of State of Tourism
THERMAL TOURISM APPLICATIONS
HERA Project “The European Spa” – Christian Noack, University of
Amsterdam
Presenting the Catalan Thermal Towns Association – Marta Luque, Co-ordinator (Caldes de Montbui)
Croatia: creating synergies in European health tourism – Ivana Kolar, Director of European Health Tourism Summit
“Transforming data into knowledge at DGEG
to enhance thermal tourism” – Rita Pascoal and Carla Lourenço, Directorate-General of Energy and Geology, Portugal
PROVERE Termas Centro, a successful Public-Private Partnership in Destination Management – Adriano Barreto Ramos, Thermal Association of Portugal (ATP) Coordinator
We look forward to seeing you at the next International Congress on Thermal Tourism!
More information in 2023 at www.thethermalcongress.com