Hydrotherapy Takes Center Stage in Athens for World Water Day

The secrets and benefits of thermal spring treatments will take center stage tomorrow at Syntagma Square, where more than 50 members of the Hellenic Association of Municipalities with Thermal Springs will present their offerings on occasion of World Water Day celebrated annually on March 22.

There are currently more than 80 businesses offering hydrotherapy facilities across Greece. The event will take place at a special stand between 9am and 9pm and admission is free.

Founded in 1983, the Thessaloniki-based Hellenic Association of Municipalities with Thermal Springs currently has 55 members and is working towards safeguarding and developing the country’s mineral-rich resources.

Greek destinations with thermal springs currently attract some 100,000 visitors per year. Experts believe much more can be done to attract interest.

“The art of hydrotherapy was born in Greece some 2,500 years ago… hydrotherapy flourished in the Aegean and later spread throughout Europe. Since ancient times, the country’s natural mineral resources have offered the ‘divine gifts of health, wellness and vitality’, president of the association John Karagiannis explains, and adds that due to its geographical location and geological structure, Greece is rich in natural medicinal resources.

World Water Day is held as a means of focusing attention on the importance of freshwater and advocating for the sustainable management of freshwater resources. Each year, World Water Day highlights a specific aspect of freshwater. In 2016, the theme is “Water and Jobs”.

An international day to celebrate freshwater was recommended at the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED). The United Nations General Assembly responded by designating 22 March 1993 as the first World Water Day.