Dear Colleagues, Ladies and Gentlemen

Dear colleagues, ladies and gentlemen,

Firstly, I would like to thank you for your presence today in the Board of Directors of the Hellenic Association of Municipalities with Curative Spring. I would like to share with you some thoughts on the course of the curative springs of our countries during the severe economic crisis.

Nine months have gone by since my election as President of the Hellenic Association of Municipalities with Curative Spring. Therefore, it is important to make a small review of our course and to present our planned actions for the upcoming months.

It is a fact that we have to work in a very difficult environment with a lot of political and economic distortions. After five years of severe economic recession that led to the dramatic decrease of the revenue for the operators for the curative springs, it is obvious that in 2015 things will be worse than the year gone by.

A few years ago, our industry took a great hit due to the abolition of the insurance funds’ benefits (it is true that the Greek Government pays more to the companies, drugs and expensive treatments in comparison with what it pays to the curative springs for prevention). This dire situation is getting worse because of the reduced purchasing power of our clientele and this is reflected directly to the number of douches and to the revenue of our enterprises.

While in May and in June the signs for the season were quite bright, the referendum and capital controls squashed any optimism.

The unstable political situation also contributed to the above situation, as the operators and those involved with the administration of the curative springs couldn’t be entirely devoted to solving the persistent problems of our industry. We honestly hoped to see things from a different perspective, but the political situation didn’t leave space for anything else. Up until now, in no case did we feel that there are central guidelines or a mandatory for everyone national strategy regarding the Spa Industry.

In every contact we made during the last months with the responsible ministers, we recommended the foundation of the National Council for Curative Springs that would be comprised by staff with close relationships with the Ministers of Tourism, Health, Development, Environment, Energy, Education and Domestic Affairs, assisted by the Public Properties Company and the Hellenic Association of Municipalities with Curative Spring. There is no way to deal separately with the following issues: land use planning, investments, geothermal energy, certification of the tourist services, condition to include the hydrotherapy centers in the primary healthcare units. All the responsible bodies must cooperate to solve the persistent problems and develop our springs and consequently the local economies that, as we all know, depend greatly to the revenue of the operators of curative springs.

We all know that for many years the Local Authorities are the ones that are primarily responsible for the continuation of the curative springs in Greece. The Hellenic Association of Municipalities with Curative Spring was behind any serious effort made until today for the promotion of the Curative Tourism in Greece and abroad with the participation in international and panhellenic conventions, European networks, publications and many more.

Every day we strive for the formulation of the legislative framework about the operators of curative springs, law amendments for the recognition of the curative springs and the completion and ratification of the law that will include the hydrotherapy centers in the primary healthcare units.

Until today, the Hellenic Association of Municipalities with Curative Spring has completed 31 hydrogeological studies.

A.HYDROGEOLOGICAL STUDIES BY THE HELLENIC ASSOCIATION OF MUNICIPALITIES WITH CURATIVE SPRINGS (completed):

1. Municipality ofAvdira1. Curative SpringGenisaia

2. MunicipalityofAlexandroupoli2. Curative SpringTraianoupoli

3. MunicipalityofAlmopia3. CurativeSpringLoutraki

4. MunicipalityofAmyntaio4. CurativeSpringAgrapidia - Limnoxori

5. CurativeSpringXino Nero

5. Municipality ofVolvi6. Curative SpringApollonia

6. Municipality ofDomokos7. Curative SpringEkkara

7. Municipality of Ikaria8. Curative SpringApollonas

9. Curative SpringThermo Leukadas

8. Municipality ofKavala10. Curative SpringKrinides

9. Municipality ofKalymnos11. Curative SpringThermon

10. Municipality ofKassandra12. Curative SpringAg. Paraskevi

11. Municipality ofKimolos13. Curative SpringPrassa

12. Municipality ofKonitsa14. Curative SpringAmarantos

15. Curative SpringKavasila - Pixaria

13. Municipality ofKorinthos16. Curative Springof Orea Eleni Spa

14. Municipality ofLagadas17. Curative SpringLagada

15. Municipality ofLesvos18. Curative SpringKolpos Gera

19. Curative SpringEfthalou

16. Municipality ofMilos20. Curative SpringAdamas

17. MunicipalityofMolos – Ag. Konstantinos21. Curative SpringKamena Vourla

18. MunicipalityofNaousa22. Curative SpringAnthemia

19. MunicipalityofNisyros23. Curative SpringMandraki

20. Municipality ofParanesti24. Curative SpringThermia

21. Municipality ofPreveza25. Curative SpringPreveza

22. MunicipalityofSintiki26. Curative SpringSidirokastro

23. MunicipalityofSkidra27. Curative Spring Loutroxori

24. MunicipalityofSofades28. Curative SpringSoulanta

29. Curative SpringSmokovo

30. Curative SpringDranitsa - Kaitsa

25. Municipality ofChios31. Curative SpringAgiasmata

B.HYDROGEOLOGICAL STUDIES BY THE HELLENIC ASSOCIATION OF MUNICIPALITIES WITH CURATIVE SPRINGS (phase 1):

1. Municipality of Agia1. Curative Spring Kokkino Nero

2. Municipality of Argos Orestiko2. Curative Spring Ammoudara

3. Municipality of Grevena3. Curative Spring Kivotos

The Hellenic Association of Municipalities with Curative Springs helped all of its members with the microbiological, physicochemical and radiological tests that are required for the submission of the recognition files. As you can read in the text that you hold in your hands, the Hellenic Association of Municipalities with Curative Springs in cooperation with the Medical School of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki conducts a research program called “Validation of the biological and medical properties and uses of the thermomineral natural resources”. The completed 20 Health Reports were based on the above program and the same applies for the 11 that are compiled now.

It is the fact that the distortions in the local governments, but also our own past mistakes and those of the former administrative bodies of the municipalities don’t allow for the realization of the studies that all of our members need. Also, the lack of technical service of the Hellenic Association of Municipalities with Curative Springs is an unsurpassable obstacle. However, we will not let any effort go to waste and we offer whatever we can to every municipality that tries to compile its recognition file. We have to admit that there was a small number, in comparison with the total number of our members, of cases that were wronged. Thus, our executive committee decided to put its special attention in those cases and promote actions in those municipalities in cooperation with their administrations in order to counterbalance the situation.

I have observed that the biggest challenge for the Hellenic Association of Municipalities with Curative Springs is the following situation. Throughout the years, differentiated speeds occurred for the springs. There are the very good springs with nice facilities, efficient organization and many revenues. On the other hand, there are springs with no facilities and no organization whatsoever and the only one trying to create something to remedy a situation is the representative of the municipality in the Hellenic Association of Municipalities with Curative Springs. Of course, there are cases that fall in between. The Hellenic Association of Municipalities with Curative Springs is bound by duty to try and help everyone, adapting its strategies accordingly.

Furthermore, there are municipalities that are members of the Hellenic Association of Municipalities with Curative Springs and they are not the operators of their curative spring, but the Public Properties Company. In other cases, in the place of the municipal enterprise holds one or more private enterprises.

As you can understand, dear colleagues, the configuration of a common strategy to represent all of the above is not something easy. The problems and distinctive traits are not divided per prefecture or region, but per case. The groupings that may occur are the results of sophisticated procedures. In truth, what we are up against is, once more, the complete lack of central guidelines as it happen is so many other areas of our country’s economy.

Personally, I detest leaps of faith and much prefer the small but firm steps. Therefore, I believe that the first necessary step is the foundation of the National Council for Curative Springs.

It may be bold to use the word “force” in my following sentence, but I continue anyway and state that if we force the cooperation among the responsible ministries, it will be a great achievement of the Hellenic Association of Municipalities with Curative Springs.

Let us continue with what we have already done and we must do from now on.

First of all, we reinforced our research staff, something that we all need. The Department of Geology of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki is at our side and has already begun visiting the springs. In the next months, Mr. Voudouris and his partners will have completed the 1st round of visits. Now, we are free to call or fax for any question we might have. Moreover, the procedures of recording, classification and digitization for the hundreds of studies that lain forgotten in the files of the Hellenic Association of Municipalities with Curative Springs have now begun. These studies deal with all of our springs, are a source of knowledge and when they come to the spotlight again they will help us in many levels.

We revived our cooperation with the Medical School of Thessaloniki and, after the completion of the current research program, we plan to move on to the final step of proving the therapeutic properties if the curative natural resources via experimental procedure. Evidence Based Medicine has a high level of difficulty, requires time and the cooperation among the municipalities, but it’s the final piece in proving the quality of the Greek Curative Natural Resources. Until today we focused on the collection, classification and analysis of books through the Health Reports. However, the next day in Medicine is connected with the experimental procedure and that is the road that we must follow.

What is more, there is another research program that is in progress at the moment. This research program is conducted with the help of the University of Macedonia and its object is to record the quantitative traits of the visitors in the curative springs. This research program is a first in Greece and it is essential for two reasons.

The first reason is that the determination of a strategy by each operator regarding promotion and infrastructure requires a detailed knowledge about the clients that pay to buy its services. The same also applies to the Hellenic Association of Municipalities with Curative Springs that is responsible for the determination of a general strategy.

The second reason is that – as we already know – we are compelled by the law to submit a business plan for the development of the curative natural resource, come four years of its recognition. Without a prior market research, this business plan is impossible to be drawn and that’s exactly what the Hellenic Association of Municipalities with Curative Springs does for its member right now.

One of our primary focuses is the promotion of the spa industry. As you will see in the budget for the 2016, the service identification codes that concern promotion activities are boosted. In the next months, we will participate in tourist exhibitions in London and Sweden. As we have already announced and will discuss in more details today, the springs will have the opportunity to be better advertised through the pavilion of the Hellenic Association of Municipalities with Curative Springs in the tourist exhibition PHILOXENIA. We also plan to have a pavilion in the Athens, in the metro station in Syntagma, as there is no big tourist exhibition in the city. The concept will be the same with the PHILOXENIA’s one: every spring operator will have its own desk in the pavilion of the Hellenic Association of Municipalities with Curative Springs.

After years of absence, we once again participate in European networks of spa towns. We began with the European Historic Thermal Towns Association (There was a relevant presentation in the Board of Directors in March and as a result not only the Hellenic Association of Municipalities with Curative Springs became a member, but also the Thermal Town of Pozar and Loutraki Korinthias, while Krinides in Kavala have already submitted a member application.) and we will continue with twinnings and co operations with other similar associations in Italy and France. What is essential is to understand how things are done abroad and to transfer their expertise in our springs.

I would like to point out that in order for these promotional activities to work we have to work a little bit more with our internet site. The internet site of the Hellenic Association of Municipalities with Curative Springs appears first if someone searches in Google “CURATIVE SPRINGS”. As you know, the site of the Hellenic Association of Municipalities with Curative Springs is an easy portal to each and every spring in our country. Thus, this is our identity and you have to tell us exactly what you want us to do, so that what appears in the computer screen can attract both clients and investors (the investments in curative springs is really crucial and I will deal with is in a few minutes). Therefore, we can add links to your area’s hotels, new better photographs, videos, more information in all four languages that we use. This can only be achieved with your cooperation and is a crucial step for the success of the promotional activities.

An important issue is the municipal enterprises - operators of the curative springs. 71% of the douches nationwide were made in these enterprises in 2014. 7.5% were made in enterprises that belong to the Public Properties Company and 21.5% in private enterprises. After talking with elective representatives, who try to operate through municipal utilities or through public limited companies, what I understand is that we have come to standstill. Both these types of corporations while they expect revenues and offer many services – canteens, restaurants, hotels- that require flexibility in order to adapt to the consumption needs of their clients, are forced to hire and make provisions like they were the municipality itself. We have to note that the only exceptions are the municipal water supply and sewerage companies. The frequent changes of the personnel and the increases cost are logical obstacles in the efforts of the enterprises to produce revenues. As a result, there are enterprises that are knee-deep in debts and this affects the local government. Of course, this problem was mentioned in the responsible ministers and now we wait – after the national election- for their cooperation in order to resolve it.

I very well know that my fellow mayors cannot bare this situation any longer and therefore search for investors. I wonder, though, how easy that would be and how certain would be the success of cooperating with a private investor. The curative springs are of vital value for the local economies and therefore mistakes must be avoided at all costs. What we need is first a plan and secondly to make the Minister of Development realize that he must deal with each and every one of these cases, because the interest that investors show for Health Tourism is not fictional and this can be verified by dozens of mayors.

Let’s approach now the relationship between our municipalities with the Public Properties Company. First of all, let me say that the CEO of the Public Properties Company has changed three times in less than a year. This is the main reason that our recent efforts to approach the Public Properties Company were not successful. I would like to remind you of the presence of a representative of the Public Properties Company in our last Board of Directors.

We all know that the Public Properties Company applies developmental programs in very few springs. The question is what happens with everyone else. It makes every sense for a mayor not to be content with the rudimentary operation of the curative spring in his/ hers municipality for some months. What also makes sense is that fact that mayors who have already found an investor – and I know that this happens- must bring this investor in touch with the Public Properties Company in order for the investment to take place. Up until today this is a very difficult task. Local government wishes and can help in this field and this is why we ask from the present administration to plan with us common solutions in order to escape from this costly and dead end operation of its curative springs.

Dear colleagues, today in our country there are 82 operators of curative springs: 38 municipal enterprises, 7 belonging to the Public Properties Company and 37 private enterprises, from which 23 are located in Aidipsos. I suggest that we try to bring closer to us the private enterprises. Besides, we are the ones that deal with the legislative framework for their operation, participate in the relevant committees of the ministries and talk directly with them with every aspect of the curative natural resources. The success of a private enterprise can have only beneficial effects in the local economies and therefore we must invite everyone, in connection with PHILOXENIA, and try to work together to create a development plan for the curative springs of the country.