Germany: European Waterpark Association Sees Water Parks & Leisure Pools between Joy and Frustration

After the Klutensee-Bad in Luedinghausen became the first leisure pool in Germany to resume its operations yesterday – read our news here – water parks and leisure pools in four federal states of the country (Lower Saxony, Schleswig-Holstein, Saxony & Saxony-Anhalt) are also preparing for a reopening, being located in model regions for cautious eases of current restrictions. However, the pool and spa industry lacks a uniform nationwide perspective. “Unlike in Austria, where all public pools can start operating again from 19 May, decisions in Germany differ from state to state,” complains Dr. Klaus Batz, Managing Director of the European Waterpark Association (EWA). Yet the public pools have already proven in the past year that their careful hygiene concepts work.

Since March, the EWA has been promoting its “TINA” concept for the reopening of water parks and pools, which includes a combination of testing, vaccination, contact tracing and compliance with general hygiene and safety rules (cf. EAP news of 15 Mar 2021). “With the possibility to register and show a daily updated quick test, people in the model regions are given access to restaurants, and I don’t understand why this does not also apply to our baths,” criticizes Dr. Batz. Instead, different criteria are applied from federal state to federal state as a basis for reopening. In most federal states in Germany, it is still not known when the leisure pools and thermal baths will be allowed to reopen. Whether the given framework conditions will then allow an operation that is accepted by the guests and makes economic sense is also unclear.

The European association appeals to politicians once again: The German government should take other European countries such as Austria as a model... Public baths must be allowed to resume operation in Germany as soon as possible. Otherwise, the baths industry needs direct financial aid to avert an avalanche of insolvencies, which applies to all regions of Europe where there is still no prospect of baths opening, said the EWA Managing Director.

With more than 52,000 direct jobs and at least as many more jobs with suppliers and service providers, the leisure pools, spas and health resorts are important regional employers. Every year, around 225 million guests visit the more than 500 leisure pools, thermal bathing complexes and health spas in Germany alone, which provide an essential pillar of health-oriented leisure facilities in urban and, in particular, often also in rural areas. (eap)