Medical spas want to become more visible

One year of prevention saves the cost of seven years of medical therapy. This was the conclusion reached by Siyka Katsarova, president of the Bulgarian Association of Health Resorts and Spa Tourism Providers, in her statement on the current longevity trend. She called for greater promotion of medically indicated wellness. Experts supported her position on Tuesday at ITB Berlin 2026 and called for greater emphasis on the value of such therapies in national and European health strategies.

Health resorts were in particularly high demand after the pandemic, said Katsarova, because people finally wanted to get back out into the fresh air. And in health resorts, the air is particularly fresh. But there needs to be a greater awareness that natural healing methods offer numerous advantages over pharmaceutical therapies, especially because they represent a holistic approach.

Prevention is difficult to sell

In addition to genetic predispositions, programs for fitness, mental health, natural therapies, and preventive structures are a prerequisite for a long and healthy life, said Martina Lalli, vice president of the Italian thermal springs association Federterme. The economic problem for spa providers, whether entire towns, hotels, or sanatoriums, is that prevention is harder to sell because its success is more difficult to measure.

Frank Halmos, CEO of the Ensana hotel group, focused particularly on young customers. “When a 70-year-old comes to us wanting to prolong their life, I have mixed feelings, he said. For effective therapies, it is important to interest young people so that they live healthier lives from the outset. However, Halmos himself said that older people can also be effectively helped with holistic therapy. “It really does happen that they throw away their crutches afterwards.”

Forest experience with bears

Lalli said that this approach must also be communicated to the EU Commission in such a convincing manner that it is included in its next health strategy. Mental health in particular can rarely be improved with pharmaceuticals. Halmos cited the example of a hotel in Transylvania “where bears roam”, but where burnout can nevertheless be cured by the calming and balancing effect of the forest experience. He opposed the introduction of robots in the service sector because human interaction is not only desired by customers, but has also been proven to be an integral part of healing mental health issues. Ultimately, all participants in the panel discussion agreed that medical wellness is a fundamental remedy.