Spa Tourism

The history of the spa as a form of health, leisure, and community practice dates back thousands of years and across many different settings. The Greeks, Romans, Japanese, Turks, and many others have long held the restorative powers of seawater, thermal waters, and mineral waters in high regard. Indeed, many spas formed important social as well as health and curative functions in times gone by. The town of Spa in Belgium was one of the first to be used by the Romans in an early form of “spa tourism.” In the United Kingdom the 17th and 18th centuries saw the beginnings of the modern tourism industry founded often around the concept of healing spa and seawaters. In the same era and into the 19th century, ...