The Latin phrase ‘sanus pro aqua’, whose ancient meaning is ‘health through water’, has come to be used later with the sense ‘mineral spring’. Nowadays it has entirely different semantics, especially in connection with the modern style of relaxation and recreation.
The philosophy of ‘spa’ is based on the oriental ideal where the harmony between body and mind could be a source of beauty and health. For centuries people have used the healing properties of water, bathing in geysers and hot springs.
In the modern view ‘spa’ encompasses procedures with mineral water, seawater and duckweed, underwater massages, aromatherapy, etc., as well as being a name of a whole branch of cosmetology.
Spa tourism nowadays is directed mainly at users who live under high pressure, and need effective and fast recuperation. This does not necessarily involve healing water, but rather comfort, calmness, recreation, suitable massages and other manual therapies, cosmetic manipulations and a balanced diet.
Have in mind that spa tourism differs from balneology; the word ‘spa’ means ‘healing through water’ (sanus pro aqua), and clients of the spa centres are healthy, wealthy people who want to be liberated from the hectic daily round, to relax instantly, and to reap the full value of self-indulgence for a short time. The possibility for the development of spa tourism in Bulgaria is determined by the fact that the country has a wide variety of natural and bio-climatic conditions, thermal and mineral waters and healing resources, as well as historical heritage. The creation of optimal conditions for popularising spa tourism and its opportunities for foreign investment is the main aim for which tourism specialists are striving. |
According to statistics from the last 8 months, among foreign tourists the greatest interest in spa tourism has been shown by the Greeks. In second place are visitors from Russia, followed by Great Britain, Germany, USA, etc. Included in a long list are tourists from Australia and New Zealand, Japan, China, Nigeria, Egypt, etc. Lately the arrival of Israeli tourists has been quite common. The most frequently used service in spa centres is Turkish massage, followed by overall massage, aromatherapy, mud applications, ancient Greek massage, etc.
Foreign tourists have long experience of spa culture. The main task for Bulgaria to gain approval as an international spa destination is to create an internal standard of quality for spa services. This will be established in standards documents, to determine the meaning of the words ‘spa’ and ‘spa hotels.’
The spa industry is more than just a modern fad, as the number of centres continues to grow. This applies to the development not only of mineral resorts. Bulgaria can offer a combination of spa tourism, eco-tourism and rural tourism – something that few countries in the world can boast. There is a ‘boom’ in the construction and variety of spa centres in the sea and mountain resorts. At the moment, the most developed spa destinations in Bulgaria are Velingrad, Devin, Pamporovo, Golden Sands, Hisar, Bansko, Sofia, etc. Their aim is to attract the maximum number of tourists, and to offer them not only sea and ski, but high-quality spa procedures and services also.
Bulgaria, with its natural gifts, does not take second place to the popular European resorts. By comparison, the output of the water in Karlovy Vary (Czech Republic) is nearly 2 million litres per day, and in well known Baden-Baden (Germany) it is not more than a million litres per day. In Velingrad, on the other hand, the mineral water output is about 14.8 million litres per day.
Information courtesy of "Tourism & Property" magazine,
Plovdiv - April 2006.
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