A wealth of water
Spa treatments are becoming one of the flagship products of Poland's tourism industry. The country's long tradition in the business, also known as water treatment services, has it poised to become one of the major centers for wellness and regeneration in Europe.
Domestic spa and health centers note that every year there is a growing number of people willing to take advantage of a whole range of wellness programs, including physiotherapy, classic massages, reflexotherapy, acupressure, therapeutic baths, cryotherapy and cosmetic services.
The industry cannot overlook the opportunity. "We have one hotel ready and are completing two others," said Violetta Dolińska, sales and marketing manager of Hotel Zdrojowy Pro-Vita in the seaside resort town of Kołobrzeg. Dolińska added that in Q1 of this year the firm saw as many people as in the whole of 2007. The hotel is taking full advantage of the booming spa industry, but also offers other services, including conferences.
The spa sector has even started attracting businesses previously unrelated to the industry. Hotel Anders in Stare Jabłonki in the Warmińsko-Mazurskie voivodship extended its offer to include beauty treatment services at the start of this year, for example.
Growing market
The demand for beauty and wellness services is growing along with the middle class and has been affected by changing trends in society and increasing awareness of health issues. It's not just elderly people being sent to spa centers for medical treatment anymore - a growing number of young and well-off people are taking a dip.
Polish spas' competitive prices are attracting an increasing number of clients from neighboring countries, from both the east and west. While Polish spa firms are considerably cheaper than their peers in Western countries, they still boast well-qualified specialists and modern equipment, industry experts noted.
Not just for sick people
For many decades water treatment centers have served predominantly as refuges for the sick - mainly children and elderly patients with respiratory, circulatory, skin or rheumatic disorders. Spa centers often rely on this type of client because they are likely to stay for long periods, according to Iwona Ciesielska, marketing department director for the Chemik spa in Ciechocinek. "They stay for two to three weeks on average," she said.
But these centers have started to build on their offer, targeting younger and more affluent clients with wellness and beauty services.
"Our clients are split into two age groups: people 30-50 use the wellness services and those over 60 come for anti-aging treatments," said Mariola Kaniecka, of resort network GEOVITA's sales and marketing office. "Many health-conscious women in their thirties come here," she added. The firm's resort network includes spa centers in Dšbki by the sea and Krynica Zdrój in southern Poland. Kaniecka also stressed that the number of male visitors to wellness centers is growing quickly.
Targeting affluence
As in other countries, spa services in Poland generally have an affluent target demographic. "We are targeting the upper echelons," said Beata Rzetelska, a marketing specialist with Hotel Anders. She noted, however, that these services might soon be available for less affluent clients as the hotel could sign an agreement with the National Health Fund (NFZ), which would refund clients.
Spa centers are also luring foreigners, mainly from Germany and Scandinavia, but from the Eastern markets of Russia and Ukraine as well. Henryk Czarny, management board president of the Panorama Hotel in Krynica Zdrój, noted that Ukrainian visitors make up a significant share of the hotel's client base. He also stressed their purchasing power. "These are often affluent people," Czarny said. Hotel Anders' Rzetelska also mentioned the importance of Russian clients.
Customers from the East often remain a secondary target, however, especially in the western and northern parts of Poland. Pro-Vita's Dolińska said that there was little potential to attract Russian clients to her region. Firms relying on an Eastern client base also saw a setback when Poland joined the Schengen zone. This event drastically diminished the number of Ukrainian clients, according to a number of companies.
Some operators have focused their business almost entirely on the domestic client, though, as the popularity of spa treatments grows in Poland. "We want to concentrate on the domestic customer, as attracting these clients is cheaper and the investment-to-return ratio is better," said Tomasz Kita, the trade director of the Bochnia Salt Mine Spa, a historical site located near the city of Kraków, which offers medical treatments for respiratory disorders, physiotherapy and other services.
Children are the main visitors to the Bochnia spa, but Kita said that foreign visitors would become a more significant target in the next two to three years. Foreign guests made up 10-12 percent of the spa's 230,000 visitors last year, Kita said.
Facing problems
Despite the sector's prosperity, the list of obstacles to growth is long. Lack of promotion and breakdowns in cooperation between spas and local authorities are major problems facing the sector. But these issues are common throughout the Polish tourism industry.
"We have huge potential but no coordinated promotional campaign is being carried out," said the Panorama Hotel's Czarny, noting that many more tourists might come to Krynica if the state invested in promotion for the region.
The lack of action on the local and national levels has pushed hotels and spa operators in Krynica to group together to help one another attract visitors. "My hotel has 150 beds, so if a 200-person trip wants to come I offer them 150 places and send the remaining 50 guests to other centers in the area," Czarny said.
Not everyone is unsatisfied with the relationship with regional powers, however. "Our cooperation with the authorities is very good," Hotel Anders' Rzetelska said.
Road infrastructure is also a tourism-industry wide problem. "We could develop more services, especially for tourists travelling to Kraków," said the Bochnia spa's Kita, noting that the journey to Bochnia from Kraków can last up to two hours even though the two locations are just 40 kilometers apart. "This deters many potential visitors," Kita said. These problems may not be resolved in the near future, but rocketing demand for wellness and spa services means domestic operators expect improving results for a long time to come.
Where and why
Poland's well-developed network of spa treatment centers and its 200 years of experience are key reasons why the domestic industry has had success despite competition throughout Europe. Poland holds the seventh-largest spa market in Europe, with 321 spas in 75 towns, according to the Polish Information and Foreign Investment Agency.
The largest number of spas lie in the Lower Silesia voivodship, while many of the country's spa centers are located in tourist hot spots. The largest water treatment and wellness centers are in Nałęczów, Krynica Zdrój, Augustów, Kołobrzeg, Ciechocinek and Wieliczka.
