Splash out for the feel-good factor

HAMBURG: The healthy properties of water is ancient knowledge that goes back at least to the Romans.

Vestiges of their thermal baths can be found all over Europe, and people today are rediscovering the meaning of the Latin phrase "sanus per aquam" (health through water).

Spa center travel accounts for 60 percent of all trips taken primarily for health reasons, according to the European spas association in Brussels. Trips to spas and rehabilitation centers comprise the remainder.

More than any other age group 35 to 50-year-olds, or people who find themselves in the middle of their most difficult work years, increasingly are part of the boom.

"They are well-paid, have little time and therefore seek out effective ways to relax and recover," says Lutz Hertel of Germany's wellness association in Dusseldorf.

But for some people, a spa vacation is more a question of lifestyle. Hertel says there are many travelers who like to visit a hotel with a large selection of leisure services, sleep late, eat substantial meals and merely go to the sauna a lot.

The "health conscious" on the other hand have a more structured concept of how the time should be spent, according to Hertel. They want to rectify specific feelings of malaise, are interested in regeneration and desire good advice and medical care.

The tendency is clearly going toward medical wellbeing, says Joachim Lieber, director of the spas association. This means the vacation is used for a medical examination that the vacationer pays for himself and for therapeutic practices.

But many visitors may not want to be admitted as a patient, says Christoph Menne, director of the German medical wellness association in Berlin. There are many ordinary hotels that offers services to meet their needs and desires.

"A bathtub in which rose petals are floating often counts as a wellness service," Menne says, criticizing some of the services. He recommends reviewing the hotel's certificates before making a choice and checking out who received them and for what.

Hertel says the "prevention" seal given by his organization is a good clue. The spas association in Brussels and the wellness association in Berlin also issue certificates.

But there are other hurdles to clear when planning a spa vacation. "It's a bit of an exaggeration, but every indoor swimming pool that heats tap water to at least 30 C is described as a spa," complains Horst Jahns, a consultant from Goetschetal.

Thus, people who are interested in visiting a spa on their vacation should check to make sure that there is in fact a thermal bath - water that comes out of a natural spring at more than 20 C.

DPA

(China Daily 02/06/2009 page8)