Occitanie in force in Paris to promote its very rich thermal and well-being tourism

La station de Balaruc est la première de France. D. R.

The region's Regional Tourism Committee is leaving for the capital starting this Thursday, November 25, at the Thermalies exhibition, accompanied by eleven partner resorts, including the largest in France, Balaruc-les-Bains.

From this Thursday, January 25 and until the 28th, the Occitanie Regional Tourism and Leisure Committee (CRTL) will be alongside the Thermal Federation of Occitanie. Occitanie (FTO) and eleven partner resorts in the region to promote the region's rich thermal offerings.

An opportunity to confirm the importance of the hydrotherapy and well-being sector in the regional tourist economy on the occasion of the next Thermalies show, a general public event at the Carrousel du Louvre in Paris.

Reopenings planned

"The thermal activity is a major lever for development of rural and mountain areas which participates in territorial planning and which, like Well-being tourism in general, makes it possible to increase the occupancy rate of tourist accommodation in the region all year round", recalls Vincent Garel, president of the CRTL which is delighted "about the dynamism of the thermal sector in Occitanie".

Especially since this year, the region can count on the reopening of the thermal baths of Allègre-les-Fumades (Gard) and the renewal of the thermal baths of Bagnères-de-Luchon (Haute-Garonne), establishments now managed by the Arenadour group, as well as by the takeover of the stations of Vernet-les-Bains (Pyrénées-Orientales) and Saint-Lary (Hautes-Pyrénées) by the Valvital group.

The shift towards ecological transformation

For Muriel Abadie, Vice-President of the Region in charge of Sustainable Tourism, Leisure and Spas, this activity "is one of the pillars of tourism in Occitania. The Region supports the renewal of resorts and activities to guarantee the attractiveness of the sector and the destination as a whole. An opportunity to highlight one's particularities and one's identity which integrates the shift towards ecological transformation into a global tourism approach focused on caring for oneself and others."

L’Occitanie has 28 spa resorts which welcomed nearly 140,000 spa guests in 2022 for approved cures (31% of national spa guests and 2.5 million overnight stays). It covers all 12 therapeutic indications recognized by Social Security. The Occitanie thermal sector saw an increase in attendance in 2023 compared to 2022.