The Corona years 2020 and 2021 were for the Erdinger Therme a catastrophe with months of closures and a loss of around 60 million euros in sales. A year of consolidation followed in 2022. And 2023? “As things stand, it will be the best year in the thermal baths’ 24-year history,” says owner Jörg Wund. 1.88 million visitors are expected.
At the end of 2022, people weren’t entirely sure how inflation and rising energy prices would affect people’s willingness to spend money on wellness. The popularity of the thermal baths is also reflected in various rankings, in which Erding is way ahead. The thermal baths are also known in China. There is now a copy of the Erdinger Big Wave slide there. Managing director Marcus Maier even learned that the entire thermal bath could possibly be rebuilt in China.
“Will wellness still be important in 2023?” asked Jörg Wund at the end of last year. His answer today: “Yes, wellness, feeling good, the holiday experience is so important to people that they spend money on it.” In 2023, the thermal baths even made it into the top ten most popular travel destinations in Germany, which Wund is proud of. The thermal baths are now the fifth most popular water parks in the world. “We were the only thermal spa in the top 100, both for travel destinations and water parks,” says managing director Marcus Maier.
The events may also have contributed to the increasing popularity
The increasing popularity is also likely to be the case Events contributed to the thermal baths, says Maier. These include, for example, the beach party, the summer festival, summer cinema or the Dindlflug contest, to name just a few. Events that are included in the admission price, but which are also multipliers and attract visitors who may not come just because of the thermal baths on offer, says the managing director. “When singers and bands like Nico Santos or La Brass Banda of course people talk about it. Some of these stars of the scene have up to 500,000 followers on Instagram.” If you don’t like the music, you can switch to other areas.
Jörg Wund is the owner of Therme Erding. He also runs the Bad Wörishofen thermal baths.
(Photo: Renate Schmidt)
The big wave slide is now also in China
(Photo: Renate Schmidt)
There is also champagne and internet access in the palm lounge.
(Photo: Renate Schmidt)
There is no standstill for owner Wund. “Every year we spend between 1.2 and 2.2 million euros on renovation work. If you don’t do anything, it’s like the public sector, then it keeps going down and at some point everything is unsightly. You have to keep at it. ” But Wund is also investing in innovations: a new relaxation room in a “modern, Italian-inspired style” is being built in the sauna area. It should be finished by winter.
This year the Celtic throne sauna will also be renovated for 300,000 euros. A new lighting concept will be implemented in the new Big Bang slide as soon as the necessary headlights are available. The complete replacement of the glass facade in the sauna area will cost 450,000 euros because the old panes have partially become blind after 17 years. There will soon be more lying areas outside. Platforms like those in the sauna area are being considered, or an expansion of the area as a whole.
The building limits have been reached and the building could still be expanded further
But the city of Erding would have to play along. “We have reached the current building limits. There are only two options: increase the area or expand upwards.” Wund and Maier, for example, are thinking of “floating islands” 3.80 meters high near the palm trees in front of the Hotel Victory. “Everyone dreams of being on a small island with palm trees,” says Wund.
The thermal spa also wants to achieve a top position in the area of solar power. Wund has received building permits from the city of Erding for a photovoltaic system with a peak output of around 1,000 kilowatt hours. The thermal baths are investing 3.6 million euros in this. “This will be a really big step towards independence,” says Wund. With today’s electricity prices, the investment was refinanced after less than two years. A PV system on the Hotel Victory has been delivering 100 kilowatt hours since the end of 2022.
The solar panels on the roof of Hotel Victory can provide around 100 kilowatt hours of electricity when the sun is shining.
(Photo: private)
The thermal spa also wants to become a leader in the area of charging stations for electric cars. There are already 16 charging points with 11 KW connections in the parking garage, says the owner, and there will be 70 in the next stage. On average, guests travel a distance of 235 kilometers to get to the thermal baths, says Wund. “Half to two thirds of a car battery is then gone.” During his stay he can recharge the battery at the columns. On average, a guest spends between seven and nine hours in the thermal spa.
33 percent of guests came to the thermal baths for the first time in 2023
Wund is also proud that a survey of 1,600 guests in the summer showed that around 33 percent came for the first time. Before Corona it was only 18 percent. “We have managed to become known in a large area, including internationally. In addition, 93 percent say that they enjoyed their stay well or very much. This shows that we are not on a downward spiral, but are managing to to inspire people so much. With 1.8 million visitors a year and slightly adjusted prices, the thermal baths will continue to do very well in the coming years.”
Contrary to the opinion of experts, Wund believes that the indoor area can also handle another slide. There are even two planned: one extreme, which begins with a free fall, the second would be more of a family slide with tires for up to four people. However, another slide would have to be used for this. The fact that the Erdinger slides are well received is also shown by a discovery that Wund made on the Internet: “I almost fell over when I saw my big wave slide standing one-to-one in the colors of the Big Bang in China. If we copied “We’ve done everything right.”
The thermal baths, which currently employ around 650 people, including 155 at the Hotel Victory, have big plans for 2024. The anniversary year begins on October 3rd. “We are currently collecting ideas. And there are some wild ones,” says Marcus Maier. There should be a highlight every month.