Affiliation:
1. Portucalense University, Portugal
2. University of Aveiro, Portugal
3. Instituto Politécnico de Setúbal, Portugal
Abstract
The health and wellness tourism sector is one of the most dynamic in Europe and has experienced a significant worldwide increase in the last decades. It emerges as a key element of lifestyle, due to a set of circumstances and restrictions imposed by contemporary life. In this sense, health and wellness activities may be revealed as a means capable of satisfying the needs of the consumers, that constitute the modern wellness tourists. Although the pandemic of COVID-19 may have an impact on individuals' visits to health and well-being destinations, it may, on the other hand, contribute to an increase in health concerns, both from the perspective of cure and prevention, supported by a continuous search to raise QoL levels. The aim of this study is to identify the contribution of health tourism to the quality of life of the demand, identifying the satisfaction levels on its' different dimensions, and presents the results of a comparative study developed in Thermal Spas in Portugal and in Hungary, providing theoretical and practical contributions to this research field.
Reference110 articles.
1. The value of water: the origins and expansion of thermal tourism in Spain, 1750–2010
2. Motivations for Implementing a System of Quality Management in Spanish Thalassotherapy Centers;J.Álvarez García;Health and Wellness Tourism – Emergence of a New Market Segment,2015
3. Exploring the Nature of Tourism and Quality of Life Perceptions among Residents
4. Wellness Tourism—New Challenges and Opportunities for Tourism in Salou
5. Antunes, J. G. (2004). Análise dos determinantes do marketing relacional na satisfação e fidelização de clientes. [Analyze two determinants of relationship marketing in customer satisfaction and loyalty.]. [Doctoral Thesis, Instituto Universitário de Lisboa, Portugal].