Health, Wellness and Tourism: healthy tourists, healthy business ...

Table 2. Profile of wellbeing segment
Age Who would you travel with?
Under 25 5 (3.4%)
Spouse 67
(40.9%)
25-34 33 (22.4%)
Family with children under 12
years
32
(19.5%)
35-44 39 (26.5%)
Family with children in several age
groups
29
(17.7%)
45-54 46 (31.3%)
Friends 18
(11.0%)
55-64 21 (14.3%) Alone 7 (4.3%)
65 or older 3 (2.0%) Other 11 (6.7%)
Education
Number of annual visits to rural
holiday destinations
University degree 40 (24.8%)
Less than once a year 68
(41.5%)
Technical / Trade school /
Vocational
94 (58.4%)
Once a year 58
(35.4%)
Upper secondary school 11 (6.8%)
Two or three times a year 36
(22.0%)
Elementary school 16 (9.9%) More than three times a year 2 (1.2%)
Annual income of the
houshold
Rural origins
Less than 15 000 € 8 (5.1%)
I lived during my childhood and/or
adolescence in a rural area
I did not live during my
85
(52.8%)
15 000 – 29 999 € 39 (24.7%)
childhood/adolescence in a rural
area, but I visited rural areas often
to see my relatives
52
(32.3%)
30 000 – 44 999 € 40 (25.3%) I have no roots in the countryside
24
(14.9%)
45 000 – 59 999 € 30 (19.0%) Gender
60 000 – 74 999 € 25 (15.8%) Male 15 (9.3%)
75 000 – 89 999 € 11 (7.0%) Female
146
(90.7%)
At least 90 000 € 5 (3.2%)
Discussion
The results show that among Finnish rural tourists a segment of rural wellbeing is clearly to
be distinguished. For them the motivating factors relaxing away from the ordinary, escape
from a busy everyday life, hassle-free vacation, getting refreshed, having a sense of comfort
and having an opportunity for physical rest represent a significantly higher value than for the
other segments. The profile of the segment shows that this group is quite homogenous in two
aspects, namely 91 % of the segment members are female and 85 % have spent a remarkable
part of their youth in a rural environment. It can be argued that this segment may have a rural
place identity, which refers to dimensions of self that define the individual’s personal identity
in relation to a physical environment (Kulczycki and Lück 2009, 172)