March 23, 2025, 7:18 a.m. | Reading time: 3 minutes
Wellness trips are popular and there are a number of different offers all over the world to strengthen your own well-being. With its Health Tourism Award, the travel trade fair ITB has now chosen a travel destination that many people would not have necessarily had on their radar as an outstanding wellness destination.
Honestly, when we think of wellness, many people think of destinations like Bali, India, Finland or sometimes local wellness regions in Germany or its neighboring countries. But would you have initially thought of Lithuania as one of the world's best wellness regions? In fact, it is precisely this northeastern European country that received the ITB Health Tourism Award 2025 at the ITBBerlinden tourism trade fair.
What makes Lithuania one of the world's best wellness destinations?
Aphref="https://schonemama.de" target="_blank" rel="noopener">parently Lithuania is famous for its mineral water and therapeutic mud treatments, at least that's what Lithuania Travel, Lithuania's national tourism promotion agency, explains. Wellness here is in clear harmony with nature: “Rich springs bring mineral-rich water directly from the depths of the earth, while other natural remedies – healing mud, amber, honey and herbs – are combined with the latest medical findings to recharge your batteries,” says the wellness section of the tourism website.
Lithuania Travel explains this year's award, in addition to the "high-quality medical and wellness services", also with the country's "sustainable development and successful international cooperation". Most Lithuanian sanatoriums and hotels with wellness offers also have “the ‘EuropeSpa med’ certificate introduced by the European Spa Association (ESPA) in 2006.”
General Manager of Lithuania Travel, Olga Gončarova, stated: "Lithuania has been one of Europe's leading countries in health tourism for years. The ITB Health Tourism Award 2025 once again confirms that our country not only successfully competes with the most famous resorts and rehabilitation centers in Europe, but is also becoming one of the world's leading innovators in the health segment."
ESPA sees it similarly. The spa association says: "The award recognizes the development of the health tourism infrastructure, the quality of the services offered and the international visibility of the country. This award is considered one of the most important awards in the world."
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Wellness has a long history in Lithuania
“Lithuania's tradition in health tourism goes back over 200 years, which is why our four main spas and five spa facilities are well developed,” Artūras Salda, Chairman of the National Association of Sanatoriums and Rehabilitation Facilities, was quoted as saying by ESPA. They were all characterized by natural healing factors. “Mineral water, healing mud and a unique microclimate, the effects and beneficial effects of which on the human body have been scientifically confirmed,” explains Salda.
Lithuania's wellness history begins in the 18th century. As early as 1794, the then King of Poland and Lithuania, Stanisław August Poniatowski, declared the Lithuanian town of Druskininkai a health resort. The city later became known beyond the Lithuanian borders. Another health resort in Lithuania that is still popular today is Birštonas. The first mineral water treatment plant went into operation in this city at the end of the 19th century, as Lithuania Travel writes. Another city known for its mineral water springs is Palanga. Anyone who would like to embark on a journey to nourishing healing mud treatments will find a place famous for this in Anykščiai.
According to Lithuania Travel, in addition to its mineral water and medicinal mud, the country also has a “long tradition in herbal medicine, the production of bee products (…) and the sauna.” For Lithuanians, saunas are closely linked to cleansing the body and spiritual cleansing, but also to strengthening the immune system.
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