ABSTRACT
Many of these are located in historic towns which have traditionally served health and wellness tourists as far back as Roman times. This is true of Vichy (Vicus Caldius) in France, Baden Baden (Aquae Aureliae) in Germany, Bath (Aquae Sulis) in the United Kingdom, and Spa in Belgium amongst others. Many of these resorts had their heyday or golden era in the 18th or 19th century and subsequently declined as fashions changed and many visitors went to seaside destinations instead for sea water bathing and climatotherapy. This was particularly true of the United Kingdom in the 19th century. Bacon (1998) describes how this was mainly due to the failure of public and private investment to renew the British product (which was originally a pioneer and model for much of the rest of Europe) to a level at which it could compete internationally. State protection and regulation was not strictly enforced, therefore there was little proactive economic development and planning. Heavy industries sometimes encroached on health and leisure zones, and there was not suffi cient public investment in new infrastructures (e.g. parks, roads) or entertainment facilities (e.g. theatres, casinos).
