JURMALA - With a range of exclusive health resorts available in Jurmala, the competition is fierce. And in order to gain an edge, new treatment centers are offering more than just mud baths and a sauna.
The Amber Spa, which opened last month in Bulduri, is aiming high by offering an exclusive range of treatments that cannot be found anywhere else in Jurmala. Although at first glance what the Amber Spa offers may seem quite ordinary 's massages, water treatments and mud 's it's the methods that make the center unique, management says. For example, there is a massage chair that helps cure insomnia and an infrared sauna for those suffering from back pain.
Then there are the spa's medicinal properties. Full packages are offered for aiding respiratory and circulatory problems, sports rehabilitation and even banishing cellulite - all of which include a doctor consultation and a cardiogram 's along with specific types of sauna, massages and water treatments.
According to owner Vadim Sokolov, the Amber Spa is ideal for those who have suffered from stress, injury or heart problems.
"It's a world-class spa with a unique, state-of-the-art convalescence program," says Sokolov, who is also part owner of The Baltic Times. "In addition, we have hired local specialists and offer top services."
Indeed, modernizing classic forms of treatments is a formula that must be applied to all of Jurmala if the resort town is to compete with the abundance of convalescent centers across the Baltic Sea region. Steps have already been taken by the Jurmala City Council to make sure that they can keep up with any competition.
"In the last three years we have created working relations between the City Council and entrepreneurs, which means the tourism development strategy is closer to being implemented," says Armands Muiznieks, adviser on tourism and foreign relations to Jurmala's mayor. "My presentation at the European Spa Congress this year was the first time many people had heard of Jurmala. Now we'll be able to continue our invasion of specialists in the European 's and world 's health and spa industry."
Jurmala was first established as a health resort in 1959 when the districts of Sloka, Kemeri, Priedane and part of Kudra were merged, though the area's healing powers were savored by Russian officers and aristocrats in the early 1800s. The first steam-heated bathing house opened in Dubulti in 1858, and some 40 years later the first medical and massage resort opened its doors.
Since then, the town's natural remedies, such as sulfur water springs and therapeutic mud, have been its calling card.
But challenges abound. The biggest problem facing Jurmala at the moment is a lack of attention from the government, says Muiznieks. "Hopefully, thanks to the Economy Ministry, health tourism will take the right position in the economy of Latvia. State support for strategic development of these industries and encouragement of entrepreneurship and competition is needed to brand Jurmala successfully," he says.
The development of the health industry means that of the 20,000 employed people in Jurmala today, 2,000 of them work in this field. Tourism in Jurmala provides an income of around 10 million lats (15 million euros) annually, with most of the visitors being health tourists.
The future seems bright, since many people are currently staying for an average of six to seven nights, longer than anywhere else in Latvia. Plans for three major new spas - two in Majori and one in Kemeri - to open before the end of 2005, plus a few more in the planning process, will increase capacity, says Muiznieks.
Another challenge for Jurmala is attracting visitors year-round. Spa developers are distressed by the lack of historical and seafront buildings that could be used for commercial purposes, as this forces developers further inland where they would be less profitable.
"If the problems with building regulations could be solved or somehow limited, Jurmala would be the largest all-year health resort on the Baltic Sea," claims Muiznieks.
