Venerdì 17 Aprile 2009
THERE'S SOMETHING ABOUT OUR SPAS
Emilia Romagna’s spas: an even better 2008, with more arrivals and a boom in wellness and private visitors
Emilia Romagna’s spa resorts closed the year of 2008 very positively, with a total of 380,000 arrivals, an increase of about 2.8% compared with 2007. Over 6 million treatments (+0.1%) provided by the 23 spa centres. Positive data also for hotel arrivals (+5.3%) and tourist presences (+0.2%).
These data on trends and final results for 2008 come from the Regional Observatory on Spa Treatments and Health Tourism. The wellness market is also flourishing, with a growth in 2008 of about 15% compared with 2007, and today representing some 15% of total treatments, compared to only 1,7% of the total in 1994.
Users taking treatments funded by the health service, still an important market sector for Emilia Romagna’s spas, represented about 70% of total visitors, against 75% in 2007. However, these revenues lost have been amply compensated for by the increase in private visitors.
“Emilia Romagna’s health tourism market is evolving,” comments Tiziano Tanzi, Spa Resort Product Association Coordinator. “On the one hand, health service patients are moving through a phase of transition towards new market quotas. On the other the number of private visitors is growing. Today, one out of four visitors chooses Emilia Romagna’s spas without any kind of health service contribution.”
“And the difficult economic moment,” continues Tanzi, “is having a less drastic effect on the spa tourism sector in Emilia Romagna.”
Marketing activities for 2009 are already planned, from press and radio campaigns to a new guidebook, collaboration with private partners and public bodies, and promotions at outlet stores and Esselunga supermarkets. With this major chain, the Spa Product association in collaboration with APT Servizi has launched “Operation Esselunga”, promoting the region’s spa centres in two gift catalogues published in 3.5 million copies and distributed at stores in Lombardy, Tuscany, Emilia, Piedmont, Veneto and Liguria. The gift points collected can be used for discounted or free entry to spa centres. Other promotional operations include the Internet, with the development of the website, trade fairs abroad and educational tours for foreign tour operators.
Emilia Romagna’s 23 spa centres and private spa operators have formed the Spas, Health and Wellness Product Association, aiming to unite and strengthen their marketing and promotional activities.
