TERMATALIA ourense 2024

 El ministro de Turismo de Uruguay, Tabaré Viera, acompañó al director de Termatalia en la presentación de la próxima edición de la feria que se celebrará en este país entre el 4 y el 6 de octubre 

Termatalia will be one of the great tourist events that will be held in this country during 2023. The 21st edition of the International Fair of Thermal Tourism, Health and Well-being, the fifth in Latin America, will be held in Uruguay between October 4 and 6. This special edition was announced this afternoon as part of the official presentation as a country that Uruguay organized within the framework of FITUR and which was attended by numerous media and public and private representatives of the Uruguayan tourism sector.

The presentation of Uruguay Country in Fitur was given by the Minister of Tourism Tabaré Viera, who invited the director of Termatalia, Rogelio Martínez, to make a presentation of the Termatalia Uruguay project. In addition to the minister, the Uruguayan ambassador to Spain, Ana Teresa Ayala, and other tourism representatives from the country participated in this event.

In addition to the minister, the Uruguayan ambassador to Spain, Ana Teresa Ayala, and other tourism representatives from the country participated in this event.

The director of Termatalia thanked Uruguay for its commitment to become the venue for this unavoidable international event for professionals in the sector, in which each edition exhibitors and visitors from around thirty countries in Europe and Latin America participate, mainly. He also indicated that “we hope that Uruguay obtains the same successes as the previous editions held in Peru, Argentina, Mexico and Brazil and whose organizers have said that the celebration of Termatalia in their country marked a before and after in the development and promotion of their thermal resources”.

The director of Termatalia explained to the attendees the objectives of the fair so that they understood Uruguay’s interest in becoming the venue for this unavoidable international event for professionals in the sector in which exhibitors and visitors from around thirty countries participate every year. Europe and Latin America, mainly. Termatalia is a business center for health tourism and the thermal industry and is also a forum for specialized education and training. Every year the most renowned experts from the different disciplines that spas encompass (medical hydrology, management of spas, geothermal energy, mineral waters, tourism, heritage, innovation, sustainability,…) participate in this event.

Rogelio Martínez explained that “this fair is an excellent opportunity to position itself as a health tourism destination, with spas being the main attraction or being a complement that is combined with other tourist resources such as nature or gastronomy” and indicated that “Uruguay has everything necessary to position itself internationally as one of the great thermal destinations in Latin America.” The reasons are that its waters emanate from the Guarani Aquifer System, one of the most important water resources on the planet due to its size, quality, and water temperature.

Uruguay also integrates a large thermal region linked by the Uruguay River to the Argentine province of Entre Ríos, one of the great thermal references of the neighboring country (along with Santiago del Estero). Uruguay has abundant hot springs, both sweet and salty, located in the departments of Salto and Paysandu. This country has six large thermal centers: Arapey, Daymán, Salto Grande, San Nicanor, Guaviyú and Almirón. With its commitment to Termatalia, Uruguay has shown great interest in promoting the professional training of businessmen in the sector in matters such as thermalism, health tourism or medical hydrology.

During his speech, the director of Termatalia also explained that “countries that want to develop their health tourism face challenges such as redistributing flows and promoting new destinations, especially in inland areas, thereby establishing population and valuing natural resources of the territory in a sustainable way. The departments of Salto and Paysandú have worked very well in all these circumstances and today they are important poles of attraction for tourists and their thermal resources are important generators of employment and wealth”.

TERMATALIA URUGUAY AXES

Termatalia Uruguay will revolve around its three main axes of the fair: training, business and relational capital.

• Professional Training, through the celebration of the Fourth International Congress on Water and Health, with the participation of the best specialists in the world. Professional training courses will also be organized.

• business with the launch of a new edition of the Workshop specialized in Health and Well-being Tourism, which will bring together international tour operators. A new Meeting of Public Policies of Thermalism will also be organized. And among other professional actions, the International Water Tasting and a specialized press mission will be organized.

• And, finally, the “relational capital” that the celebration of the fair supposes each year, either in Ourense or in Latin America and that brings together professionals from thirty countries.

Termatalia Uruguay 2023 will also be the first edition in Latin America after the pandemic, a global health crisis that has changed traveler preferences. Thermalism has shown in recent years its ability to desasonalize and differentiate, but now, with the situation caused by the pandemic, it is positioned as one of the tourist segments set to grow, as a result of the growing interest of travelers in tourism of Health & Wellness.

Faced with this challenge, thermalism is a natural factor that can significantly contribute to redistributing the market, since it is an endogenous resource that cannot be relocated and that generates a connection with nature and local authenticity for those who experience it. The new well-being tourist will also look for places of proximity, within their own country or in neighboring countries, little crowded and quiet in contact with nature and with a good gastronomic offer, and on this point, they believe from Termatalia, “that thermalism The Uruguayan has a great advantage and a great opportunity”.