Overview
ISO 17680:2015 - Tourism and related services - Thalassotherapy - Service requirements defines service-level requirements for thalassotherapy centres that use the marine environment (seawater, seaweed, marine mud, coastal climate) for preventive or curative wellbeing services. The standard aims to ensure good quality services, respect for the thalassotherapy concept, robust hygiene and safety, and customer comfort. It explicitly excludes medical decision-making and does not apply to accommodation or catering services. National legal obligations (health, hygiene, consumer and labour laws) remain the operator’s responsibility.
Key topics and technical requirements
ISO 17680:2015 addresses practical, operational elements needed to run a compliant thalassotherapy centre:
- Facilities and equipment: layout and technical areas, care areas, staff facilities, lighting, ventilation, heating/AC, seawater treatment and drinking water supply.
- Staff requirements: roles, qualifications and training for medical/para-medical, technical, administrative and other personnel.
- Raw materials (care elements): handling, intake, transport and storage of seawater, seaweed and marine mud; traceability and quality monitoring.
- Hygiene system: access control, quality control of raw materials, equipment maintenance, cleaning and disinfection plans, monitoring effectiveness and waste management.
- Linen and consumables management: procedures for reusable and single-use items to limit cross-contamination.
- Customer services: information, consent, comfort, and complaints handling.
- Support processes: commercialization, design/development, environmental policy (energy/resource use, pollution reduction).
- Self-control and monitoring: internal checks and documented procedures. Annexes provide microbiological and physico-chemical criteria and guidance on seawater composition.
Practical applications - who uses this standard
ISO 17680:2015 is designed for:
- Thalassotherapy centre operators and managers seeking to implement consistent, quality-focused service delivery.
- Facility designers and technical staff planning seawater handling, water treatment and HVAC systems for thalassotherapy environments.
- Health and safety, hygiene and quality managers creating cleaning/disinfection plans, raw-material traceability and staff-training programs.
- Auditors, certifiers and regulatory bodies assessing compliance with industry best practice.
- Hospitality and tourism consultants advising spa and wellbeing developments on marine-based treatments.
Related standards and alignment
ISO 17680 was developed by ISO/TC 228 (Tourism and related services) and is intended to be used alongside applicable national health and hygiene regulations and broader management standards (for example, quality management and occupational health frameworks) when implementing a comprehensive compliance program.
Keywords: ISO 17680:2015, thalassotherapy, thalassotherapy centre, seawater, seaweed, marine mud, hygiene, safety, tourism services, spa standards.
