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

Polish Spas – in need of a polish?
Eastern and Western European perspectives on spa and health tourism
Sub-theme: Segmentation and positioning products, brands and destinations in health
and wellness tourism
Dorota Ujma
University of Bedfordshire, UK
dorota.ujma@beds.ac.uk
Research paper
This paper aims to explore the ‘ethnocentrically’ divided – and culturally specific
understanding of spa tourism, health tourism and wellness tourism; specifically based on
comparisons between the Central and Eastern European (especially Polish) and Western
perspective.
Drawing on Dann and Liebman Parrinello’s (forthcoming) call to discern, contextualize and
better appreciate research published beyond English-speaking world, Polish and English
literature on health and spa tourism is reviewed and interpreted in combination. It appears that
Polish approaches view spas and health resorts as popular destinations with a number of
protected natural on-site sources (e.g mineral or thermal water), offering contact with nature
resulting in improvements in health and well-being. Polish spas tend to be functional,
utilitarian and regimented in their delivery; where ‘improving health’ is achieved through
basic, traditional treatments, connected with a specific locale. Moreover there is a belief that
just staying within the spa environment is beneficial; that improvements to health and well
being occur simple by “being there”. In contrast to Western facilities both the quality of
facilities together with customer orientated service is not expected to be of a high standard. In
Western Europe the connection with nature and natural resources, along with its perceived
effectiveness of related treatments, is less prevalent and so is of less importance. The
philosophy and customer approach of Western ‘spas’ are often founded in the gentle
encouragement towards healthy living through often exotic and luxury treatments which take
place in random premium settings.
Such differences are not only embedded in the manner in which these types of tourism are
delivered and experienced – but also in the very specific definitions adopted by differing
cultures which are in turn influenced by both semantics and tradition. Whilst in Western
literature spa tourism is seen as a component of health tourism (for example Hall 2003), the
Polish reviews (such as Rydz 2005, Wolski 1970, 1991) indicate that the overlap between the
two may be only partial; resulting in spa tourism covering more types of tourism, not always
related to health alone (Hadzik 2009).
As a result it is suggested that current health tourism definitions should be more sensitive to
cultural variations, and that both Western and Eastern European practitioners be more aware
of the opportunities relating to both location and customer care.
References
Dann, G. M.S. and Liebman Parrinello, G. (Eds.) (Forthcoming) The Sociology of Tourism:
European Contributions, Emerald
Hadzik, A. (2009) Turystyka zdrowotna uzdrowisk (Spa tourism in health resorts),
Wydawnictwo Akademii Wychowania Fizycznego, Katowice.