Visitors to Greek Thermal and Seaside Spas (Mid-19th Century–Early 20th Century)

Melina Kostidi
Additional contact information
Melina Kostidi: University of Thessaly, Greece

Academica Turistica - Tourism and Innovation Journal, 2019, vol. 12, issue 1, 5-12

Abstract: Thermal tourism is considered the first form of tourism in the 19th-century Greek state. At that time, patients decided to travel to Greek thermal baths to seek therapy and pain relief. The first thermal spas in Greece can be considered ‘latecomers,’ because they began to develop after their counterparts in other areas of Europe, and they had few and limited facilities. However, in the mid-19th century, the urban space of Greek thermal spas and seaside resorts began to transform architecturally due to measures taken according to state policy and the increasing number of visitors. In this paper, I will attempt to study the architectural transformation of Greek spas and the profile of visitors and patients in the two phases of their development. My research is based on 19th-century primary sources (laws and doctrines, patient registries, medical reports, advertisements, postcards, novels and memoirs). I will assert that in the first stage of their development (1833–1890) Greek resorts had minimal accommodation and leisure facilities. Their clientele consisted of patients and travellers from nearby locations who encountered the lack of proper medical care and accommodation establishments. In their next phase (1890–1930), the urban space of Greek spas was transformed to cater to the needs of a different clientele. Visitors to Greek spas were patients and holidaymakers who usually travelled with other family members. The square and the promenade of thermal spas and seaside resorts became centres of urban sociability. They stayed at luxury hotels, and they enjoyed the sociability of modern facilities (restaurants, theatres, and casinos).

Keywords: spas; seaside resorts; leisure; tourism; Greece (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.hippocampus.si/ISSN/2335-4194/12.5-12.pdf full text in English (application/pdf)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:prp:jattij:v:12:y:2019:i:1:p:5-12

DOI: 10.26493/2335-4194.12.5-12

Access Statistics for this article

Academica Turistica - Tourism and Innovation Journal is currently edited by Gorazd Sedmak

More articles in Academica Turistica - Tourism and Innovation Journal from University of Primorska Press
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Alen Jezovnik ().