Bad Ischl / Austria: EurothermenResort opening ceremony

Thermenholding Director Markus Achleitner invited around 300 guests from the worlds of business, politics and media to the opening of the brand new 41.5 million euro renovation of the wellness temple and the new Hotel Royal in Bad Ischl, Austria on 25 July. Together with governor Dr. Josef Pühringer, the water wheel was turned and the "Lazy River" – the only open-air thermal river landscape in Austria – started up. In a press conference on 12 August, Thermenholding Director Achleitner spoke of the high figures for Bad Ischl and the other thermal spas owned by the company: July was just intended as a trial period for the new Salzkammergut Thermal Spa – but even before its official opening on 25 July 2008, the new spa received unusually high numbers of visitors, the same number of visitors we see at top attractions such as the "Lazy River". Compared to previous visitor numbers, which reached a maximum of 800 guests per day, July 2008 saw record-breaking days with more than 1,500 visitors passing through the gates. Overall, the number of visitors in July rose by approximately 130 percent from an average of 8,000 in previous years to 18,300 in 2008. Achleitner expects to see similar high record numbers of visitors in August too. (eap)