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is currently oversupplied. It seems
that every man and his dog provides
some sort of wellness offer
now. Every self-respecting hotel
has a spa area. There are now 1,312
hotels in Germany that provide
some sort of wellness facilities, and
956 in Austria. For guests, it’s becoming
ever more difficult to get a
handle on all these offers. Although
a hotel may say it provides a ‘wellness’
experience, it may not always
provide treatments that could be
considered as being part of a wellness
package. Searching for the
ideal relaxation package is often
immensely stressful in itself.
Various quality seals and hotel
guides provide some orientation
among this plethora of options. In
Germany, for example, quality seals
are awarded by the German Wellness
Association and Wellness Hotels
Germany. In Austria, the Best
Health Austria seal and the annually
published Relax Guide make the
search for the right hotel considerably
easier. On an international
level, networks have long been established
to ensure the same standard
of quality across the board. The
Asia-Pacific Spa & Wellness Coalition,
for example, coordinates wellness
activities within the fastestgrowing
market in the industry. At
the Global Spa Summit in Istanbul
in May 2010, wellness experts from
all across the world met once again
to discuss current projects and
challenges.
fACTS & fIGURES
TAUERN SPA ZELL AM SEE—KAPRUN
44 km of piles were driven into the ground to increase the load capacity // at € 90 million, this
is the largest tourist investment in the history of the Salzburg region // 2,100 m 2 of water areas
were constructed for day visitors // 80,000 overnight stays are expected annually in the four-
star hotel // 200 new jobs and training places have been created in the Pinzgau region.
OBERLAA THERMAL BATHS
5.5 million litres of water are required to fill all the pools // 31,000 m 2 of space has been
created, which is equivalent to approx. five football fields // 115,000 m 3 of excavation was re-
quired, which is the same as for 100 average single-family homes // 4,700 tonnes of steel were
needed, the same as constructing 86 jumbo jets // 900 km of cable was laid for the electrics.
ORIENTAL, REVITALISING,
EXCLUSIVE, ENVIRONMENTALLY
FRIENDLY
At the beginning of March 2010,
international industry professionals
came together for the ITB specialist
wellness forum in Berlin. The
main topic was the trends of the
future. It was estimated that there
will be a growing interest in oriental
treatments (e.g. hamam, rasul)
and revitalising treatments (e.g.
anti-aging or detoxing sessions).
The increasing desire for personal
space and individual care is being
catered for by hotels with exclusive
spa suites in which couples, friends
or business partners can relax in a
private atmosphere. According to
surveys, this is classified as an important
criteria by wellness holidaymakers
when it comes to making
decisions about where to stay.
Happily, the topic of environmentally
friendly breaks is also gaining
ground: having hotel management
teams that are environmentally
aware is a must in the industry,
and every third guest wants to
see greater use of regional products
(e.g. wine wellness in Austria, beer
in Bavaria), as well as organic food.
A trend that has up to now been
somewhat reluctantly accepted by
the industry is holidays with a spiritual
basis. According to the Munich
Institute for Leisure Research, this
will be an important topic in the
future.
A range of absurd treatment trends
that have been created as part of
the wellness boom are now on
their way out. Massages with cacti
drenched in tequila or live snakes,
Angus bull sperm hair masks and
face masks from nightingale excrement
– the wellness business has
certainly produced some bizarre
things. All this is now at an end,
says Christian Werner, editor of the
Relax Guide, ‘Nonsense treatments
that do not have any therapeutic benefits
are in decline. In contrast, there
now seems to be more of a focus on
good, solid treatments. For example,
brush massages carried out in accordance
with the Kneipp philosophy are
on the up and are currently offered in
around 22% of all hotels.’
SALZBURG FOCUSES ON THE
POWER OF WATER
The Austrian state of Salzburg was
one of the first to recognise the potential
of health and wellness tourism.
It began to invest in various
wellness experiences a number of
years ago and market them under
the name ‘Alpine Wellness’. It
has been a great success: 25% of
all holidaymakers make use of the
various opportunities on offer to recharge
themselves. Salzburg places
great importance on the power of
water and the regional government
is clearly committed to supporting
thermal spas and baths.
As part of this strategy, a special
project is currently being realised:
acting as the general contractor,
ALPINE is building the ‘Tauern Spa
Zell am See – Kaprun’ in the idyllic
mountain region of the Hohe Tau-
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Those who can
no longer afford
to head south to
exotic far-flung
places can seek
rest and relaxation
by taking a
short break in
their own region.