Meskó Csaba: Thermal Baths - Our Budapest (Budapest, 1999)

It was this association that in 1927 brought, for the first time in history, the issue of tourism to the attention of the country’s legislators. It was also on the association’s initiative that the first international Congress of Balneology was held between 7 and 14 October in 1937. The congress was ceremonially opened on 8 October at the Hungarian Academy of Sciences with the participation of 342 international guests from thirty countries. On 11 October, in the Concert Hall of the Gellért Hotel, the International Spa Federation was founded with Budapest being designated as its permanent centre. The following reasons for this choice were given by Professor Heinrich Vogt, director of the Reichsanstalt für das Deutsche Baderwesen: “There is no metropolis with a better claim for this than Budapest, a city gifted by nature, in its singular magnanimity, with splendidly efficacious medicinal waters and a wealth of beautiful natural scenery. In addition, the high standards of the medical profession as practised here, together with the quality of the city’s medical facilities and the remarkable achievements of its scientific research qualify Budapest as the centre from where the international concerns of the world’s great baths be administered’’.

Although World War 11 prevented Budapest from hosting further international events, the founders’ meeting played a great part in Budapest being recognised as a major spa.

Since that time, the official name of the International Spa Federation has been changed to Federation International du Thermalisme et du Climatisme (FITEC) [International Association for Medicinal Baths and Climatology]. Hungary remains an active participant in the work undertaken by the association. FITEC held its 1982 congress in Budapest, while the 1996 event was hosted by the Hungarian spa town of Bükfürdő.

1934 saw the establishment of the Budapest Bathing and Resort Centre Committee, an organisation which did much to promote the image of Budapest as a major spa among international travel agencies. The committee supported the managements of Budapest's baths in their efforts to place the medical treatment of their patients in the hands of well-trained professionals, in recognition of the role played by competent personnel in the operation of a bathing establishment. Credit for launching the first official masseur training course also goes to the committee.

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