Varėna – bait also for Vilnius residents
The mentioned Uzbeks, after two hours of recovery in Varėna, costing 7 euros each, took at least 50 photos of the sports center’s exterior and interior views and carefully searched for the souvenir shop.
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The Varėna locals themselves tend to avoid going to the pool on Friday and Saturday evenings – the swimming lanes are often occupied by grandchildren visiting their grandparents or residents of Eišiškės. A small portion of visitors come from excursions, for example, through the Čepkeliai marsh.
It is dangerous to try to get into the pools in Jonava, Širvintos, or Molėtai on Friday and Saturday evenings. There is a queue near the changing rooms.
“People from Alytus, Marijampolė, and Kaunas rush to our pool,” admits Paulius Ivanauskas, director of the Prienai Sports Center, who says that compatriots are attracted by the novelty, the 7-euro price for 2 hours on weekends, and cleanliness.
Similar trends are observed by Vaidas Liutikas, head of the Klaipėda district sports center. The pool with very modern architecture echoes with guests from Klaipėda or Šilutė. Several delegations from abroad carefully analyzed the connections between water and architectural solutions and are trying to copy them.
Vaidas also received impressions about the Gargždai pool from jumper Rokas Šermukšnis, who now lives in Norway: “I am impressed. I will always remember that it is good to return to Lithuania. I am seriously considering the possibility of returning to Lithuania. The pool is also an incentive.”
Pools near culture
Tourism market experts note that half of the signs in the Pasvalys pool are already in Latvian. Latvians visit local museums, buy fresh meat, and go to pools.
Almost specialized pool discovery tours are also organized by small groups of 2–3 Lithuanian families, whose average age is 45–60 years. The children of such families live independently, there are no grandchildren yet, and SPA wellness services are not yet needed. Therefore, the call to explore Lithuania suggests arranging such a combination – some manor or nature trail, a pool, and a semi-gourmet dinner.
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Similar routes are traveled by Lithuanian senior buses, but Lithuanians, unlike Swedes or Danes, do not set out and jump into pools.
A good impulse
Tadas Kertenis, founder of the travel app “Hoperfy,” links the pool boom to the changed attitude of compatriots. “The post-Soviet traveler followed the saying – ‘I was there,’ the current traveler – ‘I experienced it.’ That’s why people run around camps in Spain or look for a pool in Gargždai,” says Tadas.
He doubts whether small overview tours around Klaipėda district or Elektrėnai should be organized from pools. “Pools should remain only one of the private visit points. Too much crowding can cause a rejection reaction,” explains Tadas.
In his opinion, we should not adopt the Icelandic phenomenon, where metal music bands roar next to natural geysers until dawn. “Our people are somewhat different,” says Tadas.
Meanwhile, psychologist Jonas Jadevičius advises the older generation to take an example even from the Danes.
“There are culinary traditional differences, but why not get to know the architecture of the Gargždai pool or swim there,” says Jonas.
It is estimated that there are 56 larger swimming pools in Lithuania, but they are only in 24 of the 60 municipalities.
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