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

A strategy based on the traditional health tourism in Central-Europe
and new spa and wellness trends
Policy and strategy document
Várhelyi Tamás
Regional Tourism Knowledge Center, Szolnok, Hungary.
varhelyit@hotmail.com
Torday Judit
Regional Tourism Knowledge Center, Szolnok, Hungary.
Key-words: health tourism, medical spa, traditional spa, knowledge center
Abstract
On the basis of the perceptible developments in tourism and the domestic conditions, health
tourism is considered the most important sector of tourism in Hungary. Due to the effects on
health, life style and on the related products to these, health tourism – in English term: spa
industry- has more significance than just tourism. Understanding these trends and based on
the local traditions, we try to create a spa industry development strategy for Hungary and
Central-Eastern Europe.
Traditional health tourism is thermal water based activity, including spa, long cures, and
health treatments evolved in Central Europe in the 19 th century, partly based on the spa
culture of the Roman Empire. Concerning spa cities the Austrian-Hungarian Monarchy was
market leader in many aspects. In those times such treatments were considered as the most
efficient methods for fighting gastrointestinal problems and rheuma.
In the last decade health, taking care of our body and soul is getting more and more valuable.
In the modern world it is also accompanied with the notion of success: we can become more
successful in our work, surroundings and private life if we can remain healthy, neat and fit.
This is the explanation for a growing need for spa and wellness tourism within the tourism
sector.
Nowadays on the basis of world trends we can talk about producing goods related to the
tourism industry in addition to the traditional travel service and hospitality. Some products
can also be exported, as a matter of fact they can behave similarly as the products of other
export oriented industries. The point here is the export of the innovative services including the
products just like in telecommunication, information technology or health care.
Businesses with billion turnover developed in the spa industry and we might think that by
means of our traditions and of our thermal springs we belong at the forefront of the world. In
reality according to the return of the industry we only take up a place in the middle field and
practically we do not take part in the new trends and export. The reason for this lies mainly in
the insufficiency of the domestic entrepreneurial culture and knowledge. The project carried
out by the Tourism Knowledge Center, sponsored by the Ministry of Economy wished to
change this with the available resources.
Health tourism is also the most important type of tourism for the regions of the Carpathian
Basin. The reason for this lies in sectoral trends, increasing demand, rich traditions and