A trip to the spa is a common travel activity. While a professional spa treatment can cost a fortune, they are usually relatively cheap in low-income countries. They usually take their time, and are not for travellers in a hurry.
The word spa is derived from Spa , a town in Belgium, though folk etymology, repeated through marketing, has claimed it to be an acronym of Sanitas per aquam or other Latin phrases.
Springs of water have attracted travellers since prehistoric times, some of them with religious importance. While bathing was a virtue in societies such as the Roman Empire and the Ottoman Empire , it fell out of fashion in medieval and early modern Europe, with some exceptions. Modern spas combine different diets, treatments and activities for physical fitness , such as sport , yoga , meditation , sauna , and vegetarian food.
In the 19th century, springwater drinking, bathing and exercise were promoted as healthy; founded on science as well as romanticism for nature.
Rail travel , steamships and other modes of transport allowed the middle class to visit spa resorts. Many visitors came for entertainment and social life, rather than health. Spa towns, some of the earliest resorts, later diversified to cope with increasing visitors and meet their expectations. Whilst the fortunes of many traditional spa towns peaked in the early 20th century, the legacy left behind can be both substantial and impressive.
