A year and a half ago, A New Character entered the thalassotherapy scene. Dr. Azeddine Lakhouaja announced the creation of 12 thalassotherapy centers in Tunisia. Often surprised, sometimes circumspect, professionals in the sector note: after 18 months, half of the centers announced are already in operation and they are particularly successful.

The fitness experience Dr Mohamed Azeddine Lakhouaja

The idea of thalassotherapy centers was born 4 years ago, it was a logical continuation of the fitness and fitness centers that we had launched 6 years ago with my wife, who is also a doctor. We quickly realized the importance of thalassotherapy in fitness as well as for preventive or even curative treatments of certain conditions. A clinical study is underway on fibromyalgia, led by Professor Rasker.

The constraints of thalassotherapy and fitness are not the same?

“In Tunisia, to create a thalassotherapy center, it requires the approval of two ministries: Health and Tourism, which impose compliance with 83 strict standards. The ministries also monitor these centres with a rigour and rigidity that does not allow the slightest deviation. They are a guarantor of quality services and care, and I would like to thank them for that. »

The choice of Thalgo products?

“A thalassotherapy center in Tunisia must be irreproachable, so I turned, for products and training, to people (Thalgo) who have an excellent knowledge of the sea, its products and their use. ”

The “Marina Beach”, born only 18 months ago, is already a road driver of the Tunisian thalassotherapy…
“A year and a half ago, I announced the creation of 12 centers in Tunisia. We were surprised, we laughed sometimes, but today, 6 centers are active, including the first of them, the Marina Beach (Djerba). The Yadis (Djerba) followed, then the Odyssey (Zarzis), and the 2 Hasdrubal Thalassa (Hammamet and Djerba). It is worth adding the Dar Djerba in activity before the Marina. To these are added the next openings of the Hasdrubal Port El Kantaoui, the 3 Miramar (Tunis, Skanés and Djerba) and the 2 Atlantis (Tabarka and Djerba). »

So the company wasn’t unrealistic?

“Every company carries its ambitions and its own challenges. My ambition is to create a modern thalassotherapy at the dawn of the twenty-first century, hence the establishment of a training school for thalassotherapy professions. In addition, thanks to Viral Center Thalgo, Tunisia has become the other country of thalasso and the first of the thalasso sun. As proof, the thousands of tourists who discover the thalasso sun at Vital Center Thalgo, but also in other Tunisian centers and who return for 79% of them ”

Don’t we just come to Tunisia to find the sun?

“Vital Center Thalgo is also innovative in terms of health and fitness. We offer spa guests another way to fight stress, via our “Relive the 5 senses” area, a method of deep remineralization, as there was none in thalassotherapy. This year, we are innovating again with the Marine du Dos School, created jointly with Bernard Lebaz, master physiotherapist, and the doctors of our centers. »

The adequacy with the hotel industry?

“As with everything else, we cater to the best in their field. My Tunisian hotel associates are aware of the requirements of thalassotherapy center customers. They know to be precise and available. And, without falling into complacency, the return rate mentioned above is the best indicator of customer satisfaction with the team we form with hotel establishments. »