Strategic approach to thermal tourism during and after Covid-19

Abstract

Health and wellness have become important motives for consumption, attracting the researchers’ interest. One of the current challenges in academic research and in the wellness tourism industry is the conceptual development related to the key term wellness. In recent years in Europe, classical thermalism, focused essentially on the “cure” dimension, has been replaced by modern thermalism, which is particularly based on the “wellness” dimension, and the offer is more focused on preventive therapeutic motivations, combined with recreational and tourism aspects. Although the pandemic period led to the stagnation of tourism businesses, health tourism capitalized on the opportunity and developed successfully from the impact of the pandemic. The main objective of this work is to understand the challenges and strategies of the sector during and after Covid-19, namely whether the impact of the pandemic confirmed the need to reassess products and services, with complementary and composite offers that combine nature, sports, and nutrition, among others. A qualitative methodology approach was used to answer this objective, drawing on semi-structured interviews. The results report the challenges that Covid-19 represented to the sector, regarding the expenses increasing with disease prevention and equipment maintenance, the lack of investment, and the decrease in wellness products consumption.