Café of Europe “Thermal Villages: Rural Development Opportunities”
On May 4, the European Historic Thermal Towns Association (EHTTA) organized a new edition of the Café of Europe in Caldes de Montbui, entitled "Thermal Villages: Rural Development Opportunities", focused on exploring how Thermal Heritage can help small municipalities to fight against depopulation, involve new generations and promote the sustainable use of local resources.
Mario Crecente, as President of the EHTTA Scientific Committee, gave the inaugural conference, followed by the intervention of Patricia Carmona (UNWTO Tourism Market Intelligence and Competitiveness Department) who presented the Best Tourism Villages initiative.
Next, two round tables were held. The first, entitled "Thermal Villages", was attended by Isidre Pineda (mayor of Caldes de Montbui and president of the association Thermal Villages in Catalunya), Dolors Castellà (mayor of La Garriga), Kenneth Martínez (mayor of El Vendrell ), Sergi Mir (vice-president of the association Thermal Villages in Catalunya and councilor of tourism of Caldes de Malavella) and Julien Bazus (mayor of Saint-Paul-lès-Dax).
In the second, entitled "Experiences on a European scale", participated Fátima Saraiva (public relations manager of Termas de São Pedro do Sul), Emma González (director of the Institute for Economic Development of Ourense Province), Julia Palotas (director of Bad Ems City Museum) and Tania Akritidou (marketing manager of the Halkidiki Tourism Organization).
