Germany: Therme Erding Invests 6 Million Euros in Expanding Its Visitor Offering
While in Bavaria the first Corona measure relaxations for tourism have been decided starting from 21 May, and, for example, outdoor pools are allowed to reopen their gates to visitors as of Friday, no reopening date has yet been set for Therme Erding, which with some 1.8 million guests per year is one of the largest facilities of its kind in Europe. “I can’t even count the many sleepless nights I spent worrying about the future of thermal spa complex. After 300 days in lockdown without a single guest and a drop in sales of around 46 million euros to date, as well as high running costs, things must finally get moving again,” says Managing Director Jörg Wund. A small ray of hope: the belonging “Hotel Victory” will be able to welcome overnight guests again from this coming Saturday (22 May) thanks to falling incidence values.
In order to prepare the facility for the future, the current closure period is being used to expand the visitor offer and renew various areas of the bathing complex. A total of around six million euros is being invested in extensive renovation works. The majority of the current investment is going into the renewal of the domed roof, which has been in place since the opening of Therme Erding in 1999, including the bath water and control technology (carried out by the Atzwanger company) as well as the ventilation and electrical systems. In the future, the new roof will provide more light inside the thermal hall, creating an even brighter and friendlier environment. Completion of the construction work is expected in mid-August.
As early as the end of this month, new retreats in the form of “Alm Chalets” for families of up to six people will be completed in the “Galaxy” slide world, the action area of the complex. Furthermore, the relaxation area in the sauna area will be expanded by June by the addition of 37 spacious four-poster beds and 40 additional comfort double loungers on the panorama gallery. 2,000 square meters of new marble-look tiled flooring will be laid in this area as well. In the wave pool area, so-called “PalmNests” will be created by July, retreats on 16 platforms, each with an area of around 25 square meters, at a height of just under four meters, directly under the tops of the palm trees. Guests will be able to rent the individually designed nests exclusively for a daily rate of between 79 and 99 euros. A recent significant increase in demand for private retreats also led to these expansion steps. (eap)
