News

We have successfully completed the second year of the course “Physiotherapy in Spa Medicine,” designed for students in the bachelor’s and master’s programs in Physiotherapy at the Faculty of Biomedical Engineering at the Czech Technical University in Prague. The course was held in two sessions—on February 20 and 27—in Karlovy Vary.  The first block was opened by MUDr. Ladislav Špišák, CSc., who gave the students an introduction to balneology and physical therapy, […]

As part of the Spa Research Center project, we have acquired an automatic mobile air quality monitoring station that will enable us to accurately measure air quality directly in spa locations.  We will use the data from the station to develop the concept of the Spa Therapeutic Landscape (LTK)—a multifactorial assessment of the landscape surrounding spa areas, which we have been working on for some time. The goal is to establish criteria that, when met, allow […]

Registration is now open for the largest edition yet of the “Modern Technologies in the Spa Industry” conference. The event will take place on April 13 and 14, 2026, at the Imperial Spa in Karlovy Vary.  Compared to previous years, this year brings a major change—for the first time, the conference will span two days and offer an exceptionally broad professional program that will not focus solely on new technologies in […]

To mark the International Day of Women and Girls in Science, our colleague Ing. Jana Walterová, Ph.D., accepted an invitation to the Czech Radio Karlovy Vary studio. In the interview, she discussed not only the representation of women in research in the field of spa medicine and balneology, but also what science in this field looks like in everyday practice.  At the Institute of Spa Medicine and Balneology, we consider […]

On Wednesday, February 4, the first edition of the VARY°Kolegium 2026 conference took place at the Imperial Spa in Karlovy Vary. This new platform aims to bridge the gap between expert perspectives on the spa industry and current issues regarding the city’s character and future development.  The conference was divided into four thematic blocks, featuring perspectives from across the full spectrum of fields related to […]

We welcomed a delegation of 15 Bavarian participants in the 29th edition of the prestigious “Management in Public Administration” study program, organized by the Bavarian State Chancellery (Bayerische Staatskanzlei). The visit took place as part of their study trip and follows up on the Memorandum of Cooperation signed between the two parties. The guests, officials from various Bavarian ministries, were interested in the potential for Czech-Bavarian cooperation in the field of spa tourism, its benefits […]

On January 16, we were delighted to welcome a delegation from the Japanese city of Beppu to our institute. The city is located in an active volcanic region and boasts the second-largest volume of thermal water output in the world. As a result, it is a major center of Japanese onsen (thermal) culture. Today, the local spas focus primarily on short-term treatments lasting 1–2 days. However, they plan to expand in the future […]

How can we measure the socioeconomic impact of spa tourism on regional development? We addressed this question together with a team of researchers from the Faculty of Economics at the University of West Bohemia during an internal workshop held as part of the Spa Research Center project. There is a wealth of publicly available secondary data describing economic development, the labor market situation, demographic trends, developments in tourism, and, for example, the level of […]

A professional article entitled "The Role of Physiotherapists in Spa Care" was published in the peer-reviewed journal Florence. The article focuses on the importance and specifics of the work of physiotherapists in spa facilities, their role in comprehensive spa rehabilitation care, and interdisciplinary cooperation in the spa environment. The text reflects current trends in spa treatment and contributes to the professional debate [...].

We are pleased to announce that our new professional article entitled "The Potential for Implementing Innovative Technologies in Czech Spa Care" has just been published in the peer-reviewed journal Rehabilitácia (Scopus, 3Y Impact Factor: 1.421). The article focuses in particular on: the role of innovation in ensuring the long-term sustainability and competitiveness of spa care, an overview of newly developing technologies with significant therapeutic potential, the importance of synergistic […]

More than three decades after the closure of the Balneological Research Institute in Mariánské Lázně in 1993, a major milestone for Czech spa treatment is approaching. The Karlovy Vary Institute of Spa and Balneology is launching the first ever clinical study focused on objectively measuring the effects of comprehensive spa rehabilitation care, which will be carried out in cooperation with the Mariánské Lázně Medical Spa. The study […]

In April this year, we welcomed colleagues from the Institute of Balneology (Institut du Thermalisme), which operates at the University of Bordeaux, to our institute. This meeting followed on from a long-standing professional dialogue and mutual interest in cooperation in the field of balneology and spa medicine. This visit was followed by a personal visit by our team to the French workplace, which enabled us to examine in detail […]