Masserberg (dpa/th) - After enormous losses in the corona lockdowns, Thuringia's thermal baths are threatened with new adversity in terms of energy costs. The spa association warned on Monday in Masserberg in southern Thuringia that economic problems and even bankruptcy of bathing establishments are to be expected. The six municipal thermal baths are expecting additional costs of three million euros for 2023. The health resorts and spas with thermal baths urgently need financial help from the state.
According to the information, the facilities have already been energetically optimized in recent years. The possibilities of saving energy are mostly exhausted. The entrance fees have already been raised and the water and air temperature have been lowered.
The association demanded that the thermal baths continue to operate even if there is a lack of gas. "Thermal baths are not fun pools, but important building blocks in health prevention," emphasized the association's president, Matthias Strejc. "They must therefore not be classified as leisure facilities in general and under no circumstances be completely shut down in the event of a gas shortage." Such a closure would have a serious impact on technical equipment, which would be damaged if the temperature dropped significantly.
The Thuringian spas and health resorts have recently recorded significantly higher numbers of guests. According to the information, there were 1.06 million overnight stays in the first half of the year, an increase of 53 percent compared to the same period last year. They have now reached 83 percent of the level before the outbreak of the corona pandemic.
The health resorts and spas see growth potential in outpatient preventive cures. Everyone with statutory health insurance is entitled to such a cure, it said. This is a huge market for the health resorts. The Thuringian municipalities have therefore invested more in the development of spa offers and want to work this business field more intensively under the brand "Natur.Kur in Thüringen". There is great potential here for hotels, guesthouses and holiday apartments to achieve growth in overnight stays. Because such a cure lasts at least 21 days. Patients with respiratory diseases, states of exhaustion or sleep problems would be addressed.
According to the association, there are nine spas in the Free State, three health resorts with a healthy climate, three places with healing springs and the healing tunnels in the Saalfeld fairy grottoes. In this country, thermal water is used, among other things, for joint therapies and for muscle and nerve disorders.
