After 18 years as group spa director for Danubius Hotels Group, Michael Wallace has left to focus on his consultancy business, Michael Wallace Consulting, which will specialize in hot springs and medical spa consultancy services.

Based in Budapest, Hungary, Wallace has more than 25 years' experience in the European spa and fitness industry.

“In Central Europe, we have a unique tradition of combining medicine, physiotherapy and physical rehabilitation with thermal water to effectively treat and reduce pain for sufferers of musculoskeletal conditions,” Wallace told Spa Opportunities.

“It's my aim to take this know-how and promote it on a global scale.”

During his tenure at Danubius, Wallace oversaw 20 spas in Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Romania, ranging in size from 2,000sq m (21,528sq ft) to 10,000sqm (107,639sq ft) and delivering more than two million treatments per year.

Danubius spas use treatments based on natural resources such as thermal water, mud, salt and natural gases, in combination with medical expertise.

Wallace says an ageing global population means that there is an opportunity for spas to tap into these services.

“The booming ‘silver generation’ provides the opportunity for hot spring spas – and even spas without hot springs – to seriously expand their business,” he said.

In addition to lecturing at the Budapest Business and Metropolitan Universities, Wallace will continue to speak at spa and medical tourism conferences and to support both the EuropeSpa and International Medical Wellness Associations.