In November 2022, the first ‘Deutscher Thalassokongress’ was held in Norderney in collaboration with the DHV (Deutscher Heilbäder Verband) and ESPA. The congress for experts was aimed at promoting the interests of Seaside health resorts and spas on the coast and the islands. At both German and European levels, the ambition is to exploit the Thalasso theme and the opportunities in the field of health as well as economic development.
During a panel discussion, the creation of a Thalasso certificate was discussed, the importance of which was emphasized by the President of the German Spa Association, Brigitte Goertz-Meissner: “We are pushing the issue very strongly. Spas and health resorts stand for the locality. We see that Thalasso packages are being offered by hotels throughout Germany, by facilities that are not at all located by the sea. It will now be our task, with the Committee on Definitions, which sets our quality standards, to create clear demarcations for Thalasso spas or similar. We have to deposit evidence-based studies, we have to distinguish these criteria well from other limits. There’s still a long way to go, but I hope we can make quick progress there.”
Mr. Wilhelm Loth, director of the Badehaus Norderney, initiator of the congress and great promotor of Thalasso as a chance for health and economic development: “We are moving in a balancing act between medicine and therapy on one hand and wellness and prevention on the other hand.”
Marlies Soczak-Boumans, head of the Thalasso working group of the European Spas Association, emphasized Germany's pioneering role in the field of Thalasso: "In terms of quality criteria, Germany and France set an example for us and we try to follow that.”
In addition to specialist lectures, best practice examples, and intensive professional exchange, the German Thalasso Congress in its first edition also institutionalized. Future content is defined and both the organizational structure and the marketing and sales approach are discussed
In the future, the specialist congress is intended to bring together all sea (spa) baths and health resorts on the coasts and the islands at regular intervals to give the topic of Thalasso greater importance, sustainability, and lobbying. The new logo “power the sea” is the visual that describes the European ambitions for the future of the Thalasso working group.