Spas, Treatments Showcase Luring Array of Opportunities at FITUR 2014

Health and wellness have become important reasons for people to travel throughout the world. To this we must also add the increasing number of tourists who seek medical treatments, fertility or assisted reproduction treatments or simply plastic or aesthetic surgery operations at destinations other than their habitual place of residence.

The progressive ageing of the world's population and the increase in the number of spas, thermal baths and relaxation centers has also helped to boost this health-based tourism trend.

Spain is one of the world's favorite destinations in this respect. In addition to having an extensive and high-quality network of private hospitals, the majority of Spain's regions also offer a wide range of spas, hotels specializing in relaxation and even establishments that help to treat certain ailments.

All this is complemented by the country's excellent climate and a considerable range of other tourist opportunities, thus making Spain a highly attractive destination for health tourism, a business that generates a turnover of around 150 million euros a year, according to the Spanish National Federation of Private Clinics (FNCP).

Moreover, according to certain media, demand for this kind of tourism is growing at a rate of 20 percent a year throughout the world. In this respect, the business in Spain is expected to triple in size, based on a turnover of some 500 million euros by 2015.

Proof of the important role that visitors of this kind have acquired is provided by the recent creation of the Spanish Health Tourism Cluster, which brings together the following members: the National Federation of Private Clinics (FNCP), the Spanish Hotels and Tourist Accommodation Confederation (CEAHT), the Spanish Travel Agencies Confederation (CEAV), the National Spas Association and the Dependency Business Federation (FED), as well as local initiatives such as Costa Cádiz Salud, Tourism and Health Spain, Madrid Centro Médico, Barcelona Centre Mèdic and Mediterranean Health Care.

The Cluster seeks to position Spain as a key point of reference within the health tourism market, attracting flows of patients to the country's treatment centers and tourist infrastructures. At FITUR 2014 we will learn about the tools that this Cluster plans to develop in order to consolidate Spain's positioning on the international health tourism market.

The exhibitors at FITUR will also include a large number of companies and bodies that offer an extensive range of opportunities under the heading of health tourism. Amongst the participants from the Canary Islands we might mention Turismo Dental Tenerife: Medical Implant.

This company, which specializes in implants, aesthetic dentistry, dental prostheses and dental and facial surgery, possesses a team that is specifically devoted to patients of this kind. Furthermore, the company uses hosts to communicate with the patients in their own language and assist them with anything they may need. The package includes free transport for the different trips involved, accommodation, organization of the stay, advice regarding tourist routes and activities, etc.

For its part, the Health Tourism Consortium of the Region of Murcia seeks to impress visitors with its comprehensive network of thermal baths, saltwater therapy centers and associated spas.

Some of the countries taking part at the trade fair will also focus strongly on the realm of health. In this respect, we might mention Germany, which complements its health tourism opportunities with other attractive options, such as cultural tourism products.

The German National Tourist Board (GNTB), which will be present at FITUR 2014, has been promoting Germany as a tourist destination since the beginning of the decade with considerable success, based on two main products: cities/events and relaxation.

Within this segment, the country offers more than 1,000 hotels specializing in beauty and wellness, 350 centers known as spas or thermal resorts, and an extraordinary medical infrastructure, not to mention a wide range of natural and national parks. All of these products seek to ensure visitors' complete well-being.

The Spanish Wellness Spa Association will introduce trade visitors to the advantages of joining Spatermal, a quality club whose members promote thermal and wellness spa treatments. The Association will also inform tourists of the therapeutic benefits of spa circuits and the characteristics of its different centers.

Furthermore, Spatermal is the only association that offers users the opportunity to carry out spa circuits in the correct manner. On its web site, the Association has a section in which it explains the points to be taken into account in order to obtain all of the benefits of thermal treatments, with users effectively emerging in a relaxed and revitalized state. Among other aspects, it focuses on the correct temperature, the center's facilities and the characteristics of users' bodies.

Amongst tour operators that will be present at FITUR, we must highlight Nextel.travel, the reservations center specializing in health tourism, and the tour operator, China Women Travel Service (CWTS), have signed a collaboration agreement with which the CWTS will sell Spain as a destination exclusively through Nextel.travel in China.

With this strategic alliance, Nextel will have an active presence on the Chinese market, effectively using the CWTS network as a marketing channel, whilst also setting up its headquarters in Beijing. It currently represents some 224 spas and 600 character hotels.