Paris (AFP)

Attendance at spa treatments fell sharply in 2019, with 19,000 spa visitors less than in 2018, which is however linked to a cyclical reason, the exceptional closure of four establishments, representatives of the sector said on Thursday.

This is the second year in a row that spa treatments have decreased, after a continuous increase since 2008.

In 2019, 579,000 people followed a spa treatment approved by Social Security (18 days in a row, on medical prescription and for the treatment of one of the 12 conditions or pathologies listed). They were 598,000 in 2018, out of the 109 thermal establishments in France.

"The main explanation is conjunctural: it is the punctual and exceptional closure of four thermal establishments", explains to AFP Thierry Dubois, president of CNETh (National Council of thermal establishments), at the time of Les Thermalies in Paris , from Thursday to Sunday.

According to Mr. Dubois, the four establishments that had to close during all or part of the season of activity last year are Brides-les-Bains (12,000 spa guests), due to work related to the presence of bacteria in the water, Bourbon-Lancy (4,500), due to a fire, Lons-le-Saunier (1,800), due to redevelopment, and Eaux-Bonnes (1,000), due to a problem with the structure of the complex.

Beyond this cyclical explanation, professionals put forward tax reasons for the drop in attendance: the increase in the CSG and the CRDS for certain incomes.

According to Mr. Dubois, this could have led to a drop in purchasing power which dissuaded some from following a cure.

For an agreed spa treatment, treatments are reimbursed up to 65%. Transport and accommodation costs may be partially reimbursed, provided they do not exceed resource ceilings.

"The majority of spa guests are retired, with an average age of 63/64 years," recalls Mr. Dubois.

In addition, the sector wishes to set up for the period 2020-2026 an Observatory of the economy of thermal spas, to compensate for the lack of a global evaluation of this activity.

This follows a report from the Court of Auditors published last year. Based on the Occitania region, he believed that the "economic model (of the sector) should imperatively be revised" because it did not keep "all its promises in terms of spin-offs on employment, the development of rural areas and state of municipal finances ".

In addition to the economic aspect, the effectiveness of cures is disputed in the medical world.

Within the framework of the convention concluded with Social Security in 2003, after a very critical report of the General Inspectorate of Social Affairs in 2000, the sector undertook to demonstrate the "medical benefit rendered" from medical cures, in exchange maintaining their reimbursement.

Since then, the sector has spent 14 million euros on research and funded studies comparing the effectiveness of spa treatment compared to conventional treatments for certain conditions (anxiety disorders, arthritis, overweight ...).

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