The Kur- und Verkehrsverein was founded in 1862 on the initiative of a number of Wiesbaden notables under the chairmanship of ophthalmologist Dr. Alexander Pagenstecher, who later became the spa director Ferdinand Hey'l. The first activities included the publication of brochures and the spa and tourist list. After the annexation of Nassau, the Kur- und Verkehrsverein campaigned for the town to take over the spa facilities, for the redesign of the spa (1875) and Kochbrunnen (1888) facilities and for the construction of a new spa building. In 1925, the name was changed to "Neuer Kurverein Wiesbaden".

When spa operations were resumed after the end of the occupation in 1930, the Kur- und Verkehrsverein advertised with the motto "Ancient healing power - eternally young beauty" and operated under the name "Wiesbadener Kur- und Verkehrsverein" from around 1936. At this time, the National Socialists had already enforced the "Führer principle" and the unification of the associations; the Kur- und Verkehrsverein was headed by a "party comrade", city councillor Ludwig Altstadt. Jewish members had to leave the association.

After the Second World War, city councillor Heinrich Glücklich steered the fortunes of the now "Kurverein Wiesbaden". During this time, the Kur- und Verkehrsverein developed initiatives for the restoration of the shelters and the installation of benches, and influenced the reconstruction of the state theater, the theater and fountain colonnade as well as the Kurhaussaal. In 1952-57, he published the "Kur- und Fremdenblatt", then the Wiesbadener Leben.

The Kur- und Verkehrsverein also campaigned for a structural transformation of Wiesbaden into a spa, congress and conference city and for the construction of a modern congress hall, which was finally realized in 1957 in the Rhein-Main-Halle. From 1962, there was close cooperation with the Society of Friends of the State Theater. In 1965, the Kur- und Verkehrsverein began installing information boards on historical buildings and squares; it is also responsible for the construction of the Lapidarium below the Römertor, as well as the Wiesbadener Brief.

When the Kur- und Verkehrsverein celebrated its 125th anniversary, the number of members had been declining for some time. In 2011, the Kur- und Verkehrsverein finally merged with the "Friends of the Wiesbaden Foundation e.V.".