Wellness as a new direction of development of Polish spa resorts
Diana Dryglas
Abstract
The aim of this paper is to identify the direction of development of medical spa resorts in Poland. Survey data were collected from 50 managers of therapeutic, thermal and spa enterprises and 80 representatives of local governments in spa communes, using a self-administered e-questionnaire. The results indicated that the two groups of respondents are of the unanimous opinion that the most important demand-side factors (functions performed by spa resorts based on push motives) for the development of spa resorts are wellness-oriented activities, and the most important supply-side factors (functions performed by spa resorts based on pull motives) for the development of spa resorts are nature and spa/wellness services. The study has important implications for scholars, allowing them to understand new trends of development of spa resorts, as well as for local governments and health-related enterprises engaged in marketing and development in European medical spa resorts.