Romanian spa resorts combine natural cure resources with beautiful landscapes and cultural and historical heritage. After the fall of the communist regime in 1989, most of the hospitality ...infrastructure remained the same, without any significant investment in upgrading the accommodation structures or treatment facilities. The purpose of this paper is to identify the variables that predict the domestic tourism demand for spa resorts in Romania derived from the literature. The results suggest that the trigger factor to boost the domestic demand remains the tourism offer. Nevertheless, the development of spa tourism in Romania is still possible if some efforts are made, in order to reduce its dependency on the social insurance system.
Spa tourism has undergone important changes in recent decades, actively embracing wellness and wellbeing. However, this transition is taking place in different ways in Europe, and this has led to ...varying perceptions of thermalism that have little to do with its original conception. The main aim of this study was to analyse current perceptions of spa tourism amongst university students, so as to identify profiles and compare the differences between two study cases: Granada (Spain) and Aachen (Germany). For this purpose, we applied a methodology that combines artificial intelligence techniques with questionnaires containing both quantitative and qualitative variables. This enabled us to identify and characterize a series of profiles, so as to acquire detailed knowledge of the perceptions of these students regarding spa tourism in Granada and Aachen. On the basis of the results, the interviewees were grouped together into seven profiles from which we deduced that young Germans from Aachen visit spas more frequently and have a more realistic perception of the thermal sector than young Spanish people from Granada. This situation could limit present and future demand for spas in southern Spain. With this in mind, in this paper we present an updated assessment of the demand for spas amongst university students, in order to design effective geomarketing strategies in two cities with long spa traditions.
The tourism sector has witnessed continuous development over the last few decades, overcoming various challenges and crises. This resilience underscores the remarkable diversity of managerial and ...entrepreneurial initiatives capable of meeting the ever-growing and unpredictable global demand. Our objective is to explore the perceptions of factors and opportunities that encourage the launch and management of businesses in health and spa tourism utilizing a qualitative methodology. Our conclusions are based on the analysis of 32 hotel managers’ and small business owners’ interviews in a relevant tourist resort in Romania. This study reveals that all four types of identified opportunities and drivers influencing business creation and management in health and spa tourism (i.e., improving work quality and independence, professional and personal development, responses to opportunities, and upgrading existing services) are substantially influenced by gender, relevant work experience, and education. The novelty of our research lies in highlighting the influence of these drivers according to a specific context given by the size, management type, and ownership structure of tourism ventures, as well as the difference between large hotel managers and small business owners in terms of their perception and goals. We acknowledge that the limited number of interviewees and the spatially bound context of the research may have an effect on the relevance of the results. This study’s findings underscore the necessity for compromise and collaboration among diverse stakeholders in the tourism industry, particularly when developing long-term strategies for health and wellness destinations. This collaborative approach plays a critical role in promoting the well-being and prosperity of individuals, businesses, and the entire local community.
As an increasing number of people in affluent societies are trending toward more health-conscious lifestyles, tourism consumer behavior has changed considerably, especially in the spa and wellness ...industries. By concentrating on spa visitors' attitudes toward healthy living - in other words, wellness attitudes - this paper highlights the underlying factors influencing people's behavior in relation to spa visits and wellness consumption in general. The data were collected through an online survey completed by Finnish spa visitors (N = 698). Data analysis revealed a five-dimensional structure of respondent wellness attitudes, along with their connections to demographic variables. Overall, the results indicate that Finnish people with very different demographic profiles value a more holistic approach to their health. Different perceptions related to wellness enhancement can partly be explained by demographic characteristics, particularly gender, age, level of education, employment, household type, and area of residence.
Spa tourism statistics in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia Radović - Stojanović, Jelena; Gnjatović, Dragana
Menadžment u Hotelijerstvu i Turizmu = Hotel and Tourism Management,
2021, 2021-00-00, 20210101, 2021-01-01, Letnik:
9, Številka:
2
Journal Article, Book Review
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
The paper presents statistical data on spa tourism in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia in the period from 1926 to 1940. The sources of data for the research were the Statistical Yearbooks of the Kingdom of ...Yugoslavia. The paper aims to show how spa tourism statistics and tourism statistics in general developed in the years between the two world wars. Furthermore, the paper aims to provide a picture of the level of development of spas and spa tourism in the Kingdom through the presented data. Illustrative data on hotel capacities for some of the most famous spas in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia are presented. A combination of historical and statistical methods was used to analyze statistical data on spa tourism and the financial effects of tourism. The existing data made it possible to calculate the share of revenues from spa tourism in both the total revenues from tourism and the national income of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia.
Experiences with Spa products consumption are under theorised, overlooked and disregarded in most developing countries. This qualitative study examined individuals' experiences. These experiences are ...important as they are fundamental in the assessment of the contributions of Spa products consumption to an individual and to the development of Spa tourism. In-depth interviews were conducted with 30 purposively sampled respondents. The study was carried out within seven study sites of day Spas and thermal and mineral springs. Thematic analysis was implemented, identified spiritual upliftment, personality development, gastronomic benefits and emotional healing as the dominant factors influencing individual experiences with Spa products consumption in Zimbabwe. The study concluded that experiences with Spa products consumption are different among individuals, but at the same time being instrumental to the development of the consumer psychosocially and economically. Positive experiences help in the development of Spa tourism in diverse social settings. These findings are significant as they offer means by which the Spa sector can propose reasonable strategies and mechanisms to optimise the consumption of the Spa products for individuals' well-being and the development of Spa tourism in Zimbabwe. Given these findings, there is a need to promote the use of Spa products by individuals through various means.
The article presents the results of the analysis of the elements of business models of spa tourism enterprises in the context of the principles of sustainable development in tourism business. In the ...process of defining individual rules for tourist enterprises, an approach based on sustainable tourism criteria and an attempt to adjust them to individual conditions resulting from the specifics of the tourist business activity being carried out was proposed. The characteristics of the individual components of business models were based on the results of interviews conducted in 17 tourism enterprises. The CANVAS scheme was used to examine the structure of the business model. It was found that the business models of spa tourism enterprises not only fail to conform to the principles of sustainable development, but are also not used as managerial tools. Their knowledge among managers is very poor. The analysis was supplemented with additional roles played by Polish sanatoriums in preventing the SARS-Cov2 virus pandemic. The research also revealed an example of cooperation between several spa companies, in the framework of coopetition and exchange of knowledge and services, which can be considered as the initiation of cooperation based on open innovation.
Hydropower, biomass, biogas, biofuels, wind power, solar energy and geothermal energy are the major resources to provide Backa region with most of its. Backa extends between 45°16′ and 46°22′ of the ...northern latitude and 18°36′ and 20°37′ of the eastern longitude. It occupies the north-eastern part of Vojvodina, i.e. the most north-western part of the Republic of Serbia. That is historical-geographic territory bordered on the Danube on its western and eastern side, the Tisa on its eastern side and with the state border towards Hungary on the north. In this paper, the focus will be on renewable sources, specifically geothermal energy in Backa region. The paper analyzes the characteristics of thermal–mineral waters in Backa, the condition and possibilities of their exploitation in spa tourism, and in other economic branches. The tradition of thermo-mineral waters exploitation in spas and public baths is rather long. Today, this type of thermo-mineral waters exploitation in Backa is the widest spread. Permanent, i.e. continuous exploiters of thermal–mineral waters in Backa are primarily balneal–rehabilitation centres and exploiters using the water for technological purposes.
Noneconomic activities involve social work and social protection that besides health care take special care of individuals as members of the society. Rehabilitation and recreation funded by the ...Pension and Disability Fund and the Republic Fund for Health Insurance fall within such activities. The funds are financed mainly from the budget of the Republic of Serbia, reflecting the impact of global economic crisis, thus the allotted funds for rehabilitation and recreation are affected in the same way. The question arises about the size and form of such impact on the system resembling communicating vessels and also its reflection on the social function of spa/climatic resorts, and spa tourism indirectly on the territory of the Republic of Serbia. Statistical method of correlation was applied to data on annual series for the period 2008-2012, which covered the time prior, during and after the global economic crisis.
This article discusses the need to expand the concept of the value proposition, in order that this business model component includes the value for a customer, the value captured by the enterprise, ...and the value for the community, as well as benefits for the natural environment. The objective of the article is to identify sustainable development components that have been proposed for tourist enterprises in the research literature. The article proposes actions to complement existing tourist enterprises business models in order to give them the characteristics of a sustainable business model and to implement practices of value creation for the community. The research notes that the value captured by an enterprise determines the level of implementation of its economic objectives resulting from the value creation for the customer and implementation of social objectives (including pro-ecologic ones). The revenues of an enterprise depend, first of all, on meeting the expectations of the customer, meaning that they depend on the value proposition for the customer, and their volume will allow researchers to determine the possibility of creating value for the community. The expected tendency to create value for the community is argued to be proportional to the effectiveness of customer value influence, less the value captured by the enterprise. After an initial review of relevant literature, attention is focused on health tourism enterprises and how these principals can be applied in that context.
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