Health Tourism

 

Health tourism includes also the preventive medicine, rejuvenation, dietique aesthetic and the tourism of disabled and handicapped. The public bathhouse –hot baths- (it is the loutron, thermae, onsen, sauna, bania, or hamam) was an important part of the ancient Greek daily life; sweat bathing was considered central to well being.
The health tourism is underdeveloped in Greece although there is the potential due to good Mediterranean climate and the existence of Mineral Water Sources of curative quality. There is a large number of natural health springs from Macedonia to Crete. What is needed is the upgrading of infrastructure and giving motives to private sector (hotels) for introducing health tourism (spa center, thalassotherapy centers, etc) as a means of enrichment and diversification of the hotel product.
Greece’s functioning public baths can be found mainly at resort areas where hot springs are located.
The table 4 and table 5 show the current infrastructure in Greece concerning the thalassotherapy and hydrotherapy installations.

Table 4
Thalassotherapy centers

Greece(1) 3(2 in Crete,1 in Athens)
France 40(12 in Channel, 22 in Atlantic,19 in Mediterranean)
Spain(2) 15
Italy 3
Portugal 4
Turkey 1
Cyprus 4
(1) There are 6 under construction
(2) There are 15 Thalassotherapy centers in Andaloussia alone according to newspaper EL PAIS
Source: Paulopoulos P , (2001),Winter tourism in Greece, ΙΤΕP, 

Table 5
Hydrotherapy centers

GREECE 17(1 modern)
France 104
Spain 81
Italy 200
Portugal 53
Turkey 19
Cyprus In all the luxury (5*) hotels
Source Source: Source: Paulopoulos P ,(2001),Winter tourism in Greece, 

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