Therme Group: Creating Wellbeing Experiences in Urban Spaces

Crises surrounding collective wellbeing are sharply felt in urban contexts, where loneliness, isolation, and anxiety are commonly reported. Efforts need to be made to reorient businesses and our economy around positive impact so those living in cities can feel healthy, safe, and secure, all while protecting the environment for generations to come.

We spoke with Duncan Newbury, VP of Brand and Global Marketing Director at Therme Group, about how this global wellbeing pioneer is creating wellbeing experiences that foster health, connection, and community.

What inspired your founders to start advocating for the Wellbeing Economy? 

At Therme, we are passionate about inclusive and accessible wellbeing. We believe everyone should have access to the highest quality wellbeing experiences regardless of their background or abilities.  

The modern Therme concept began in Germany as a technology-driven, person-centric approach to wellness. It has since been successfully introduced in Romania, with Therme Bucharest. We are now working toward delivering the concept in cities across the world to create a positive wellbeing impact for people and planet.  

Globally, we are seeing a crisis of wellbeing and nowhere is this more obvious than in our cities. Research has shown that people living in cities disproportionately suffer from mood disorders and anxiety, and that prolonged loneliness (a common affliction in modern cities) can have the same impact on mortality as smoking fifteen cigarettes a day. We want to help create a future where humans can thrive in urban contexts. That means creating businesses and a wider economy that positively impact not only individual wellbeing but also communities and nature.

What do you consider to be your biggest success as an advocate and professional in this space? Can you share any stories of the impact your work has had that have surprised you? 

Together with our strategic partner, Thermengruppe Josef Wund, we welcome millions of guests each year to our wellbeing resorts. Building a community around these locations of people who are committed to wellbeing has been a hugely satisfying part of our work. We are now working closely with stakeholders across the globe to deliver new Therme locations.  

One of the biggest successes of delivering the Therme concept has been how communities have reacted to it and integrated wellbeing into their daily lives. Though our concept is new to many people, we have seen an openness toward and acceptance of the experiences we offer. For example, in Therme Bucharest, our aqua fit classes and Aufguss sauna rituals have been hugely popular activities. There is an appetite for new experiences, but ones which are based on the fundamental human need for connection to water, nature, and each other. 

How do you feel that shifting to a Wellbeing Economy will help make the world better? 

The Wellbeing Economy Alliance (WEAll) describes the Wellbeing Economy as: “designed to serve people and planet, not the other way around.” Looking beyond GDP to delivering wellbeing represents a fundamental shift in how we frame success.  

In shifting to a Wellbeing Economy, we can bring the focus of success toward connection, community, and the enhancement of physical and mental wellbeing. By centring these elements and placing them within the context of supporting the natural world, we can create a future where we can all thrive.  

The path we’re currently on as a global community is not sustainable. By putting wellbeing at the foundation of successful communities, we can drive sustainable economic growth. This means we need to reframe how we see success away from historical ideas of GDP and growth and toward more human and planetary values. For example, if we shift criteria to an emphasis on factors such as health, life satisfaction, social cohesion, cultural diversity, and environmental impact, we create cities that people want to live in, places where they feel healthy, happy, and secure. If we do this, communities — and by extension, economies — will thrive.  

What are some of the challenges you typically face in advocating for the Wellbeing Economy?

Our facilities include multiple saunas, adult-only and family areas, indoor and outdoor thermal and mineral pools, evidence-based nutrition, aqua fit classes, waterslides and wave pools, spa treatments, sports events, and art and cultural programming. All these elements are set amongst thousands of biodiverse plants and managed by seamlessly integrated state-of-the-art technology.  

Herein lies a challenge: as a multi-sensory experience, you can only fully understand it by going and experiencing a Therme. It isn’t easy for us to explain the wealth of what Therme has to offer to those who aren’t familiar with it without bringing people to one of our facilities.  

On the flip side of this, we have found that once people come and experience Therme, they are incredibly positive and want to return, alongside wanting to bring a Therme to their own city. After visiting, they can see that by combining scale and sustainable technology, we can deliver exceptional quality at an affordable price point.

Are there any upcoming initiatives or projects related to your work/the Wellbeing Economy you’d like to share? 

We are moving into a very exciting new phase for our company. As well as continuing to innovate at our existing locations in Germany and Romania, we are developing the Therme concept in cities across the globe. In the UK, planning permission for the updated design of our new facility in Manchester has been approved, and we are working closely with our strategic partner Thermengruppe Josef Wund to deliver a new location in Bad Vilbel close to Frankfurt, Germany.

We will be delivering our first North American location at Ontario Place in Toronto, Canada, and we are working closely with the local government in Washington, DC, to explore site options for a project in the city. We also have a project in development in Incheon, South Korea, and are exploring options for further locations in Asia Pacific and the US. 

Additionally, we have partnered with a number of thought leaders and academic institutions. Most recently, we partnered with the University of Surrey, one of the world’s leading universities for tourism studies and research, on a project that seeks to transform the tourism industry’s emissions measurement and carbon trading with crypto-based systems. With the aim of forming a more sustainable future, the initiative will produce new digital platforms that significantly increase the tourism industry’s ability to measure and reduce its carbon footprint.

The partnership represents Therme’s goal of contributing toward the green economy of the future. A significant proportion of our carbon footprint is generated by guest travel. Therefore, gaining an understanding of our footprint and how to reduce it is crucial. By investing in research, we can also make the findings available to the wider industry so that, collectively, we can make steps toward a more sustainable and healthier future. 

What can people do to help spread the word about or take action toward transitioning to the Wellbeing Economy? How can they support your mission? 

At Therme, we function a little differently. We are a connected, interdisciplinary ecosystem of companies, ventures, and partnerships. This approach allows us to challenge accepted norms, be more fluid in our actions, and work together to deliver our vision. Developing partnerships with like-minded individuals and companies that are committed to advancing wellbeing at an urban level and throughout the world is something we actively seek. 

We’re eager to hear from everybody and create forums of discussion that are not only about us but that explore our industry as a whole. We encourage anyone curious about new wellbeing environments to come and visit one of our destinations. Therme is really something that has to be experienced to be truly understood, and we’d love to welcome you!

This story was featured in the Make The World Better Magazine: