Thermal Springs Key to Boosting Wellness Tourism in Greece

On December 17, experts and local authorities will meet in Kamena Vourla, Central Greece, for the 2nd Panhellenic Conference of the Thermal Medicine Academy to discuss ways to tap into the more than 700 thermal springs across Greece, to promote wellness tourism and attracting travelers to Greek destinations all year round.

The three-day event titled “Thermal Medicine: Prevention, Maintenance, Treatment and Rehabilitation” will additionally explore the role of trained physicians who can supplement thermal spring treatments with specially designed regimens.

Thermal springs in Greece can bring in tourism revenue and tourists all year round, according to Konstantinos Kouskoukis, a dermatologist and president of Greece’s Thermal Medicine Academy.

Kouskoukis told the Athens News Agency that hot spring treatments and thermal medicine are dynamically developing worldwide, and ‘‘Greece can play a leading role as it has an extremely large number of mineral springs which can cover the full range of treatment’’.

He added that together with Greece’s mild climate, natural beauty, lauded Mediterranean diet, rich cultural and historical heritage and by formulating a strategy for spa tourism, ‘‘four-season tourism can be the next big thing with multiple benefits’’.

Referring to the more than 1,400 hot spring centers operating out of resorts in Europe, Kouskoukis explained that ‘‘thermal spring treatments run for 21 days every six months … securing in this way repeat tourists who come back with expenses covered by their insurance funds’’. This alone, he said, would create the need for thermal spring, thalassotherapy, hydrotherapy, spa & wellness centers and extend the tourism period.

According to data, Europeans take 2.6 million trips per year for leisure and health purposes.