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Purpose: Among the sectors of the wellness economy, wellness tourism, with a decrease of 39.5%, and spas and thermal baths, with a change of -38.6% and - 38.9%, respectively, were hardest hit by the Covid-19 pandemic (Yeung & Johnston, 2021). Nonetheless, Kitchen (2023) believes that one of the biggest trends in the wellness industry by 2023 will be spa destinations. The pandemic has raised awareness of the importance of a healthy lifestyle (Li & Huang, 2022) and consequently led to an increase in the consumption of experiences and travel that are somehow motivated by wellness (Alonso-lvarez, 2012; Rodrigues et al., 2020; Wen et al., 2021; Ferreira et al., 2022; Vaz et al., 2022; Kitchen, 2013). Rodrigues and co-authors (2020) identify the inversion of the age pyramid as one of the reasons for this growth. The world's population is ageing but, fortunately, is becoming increasingly informed and financially empowered. This segment is therefore becoming a fantastic public for this industry as they have more time to travel, are more financially secure than the previous generation and have a strong desire for authentic experiences. The baby boomers are realising the value of the treatments available. Thermalism thus becomes a highly valued market proposition for this generation as it has medicinal and preventive benefits (Patterson & Pegg, 2009). According to Yeung and Johnston (2018), thermal/mineral springs are the fastestgrowing subcategory of wellness tourism. Alonso-lvarez (2012, p. 15) believes that what is presumptuously described by the name of health and wellness tourism has three basic components: the mineral springs or thermal resorts, the spa facilities that do not rely on local natural mineral springs and thalassotherapy - is an activity that has been increasing steadily in all developed economies of Europe over the past few decades. The Article 2 of Decree-Law No. 142/2004 of 11 June of the Portuguese Official Journal (Diário da República), defines the spa or thermal establishment as "the unit providing health care in which the use of the therapeutic properties of a natural mineral water is carried out for the purposes of disease prevention, therapy, rehabilitation and health maintenance, and complementary and adjunctive techniques to those purposes may also be practised, as well as thermal wellness services". Note that the preventive component is included in the definition. Thermal therapies are used for healing and as an escape from illness through relaxation and the properties of mineral waters. Chen et al. (2008) proved that when a consumer seeks services and experiences in wellness resorts, the main motivation is the relaxation of body and mind - hence the marketing strategies reinforce the differentiating experience of relaxation. The study also identifies that the second reason is the range of activities available, i.e., they seek the possibility to diversify. And thirdly, they seek contact with nature. Rocha and Brandão (2014, pp. 227-228), referring to the proposal of the DirectorateGeneral of Tourism of 2005, segment thermalism into "classic thermalism" and "wellness thermalism", making the distinction as follows: 'classic thermalism' (CT), defined as the one whose offer is organised to meet demand motivation based on defined pathologies and essentially with a therapeutic aim, equilibrium replacement and functional recovery, and wellness thermalism (WT), defined as the one whose offer is intended for customers whose demand motivation is leisure, tourism, and therapeutic recreation in the sense of organic, functional, and mental replacement". Regardless of the segment, classic thermalism or wellness/preventive thermalism, it is scientifically proven that thermal therapies present a series of benefits for the user (Maraver & Karagulle, 2012) (Lopes et al., 2018; Rodrigues et al., 2020; Ferreira et al., 2022; Vaz et al., 2022; Silva et al., 2023) due to the immunological, physical, microbiological and chemical properties of mineral waters. (Edlin & Golanty, 2015; Cacciapuoti et al., 2020). Indeed, the benefits of thermalism and mineral waters go beyond relaxation and appeasement of stress caused by the pace of modern society (Martins et al., 2021). Regarding the abovementioned, this study aims to present an analysis of the evolution of the shift of thermal users between wellness and classical thermalism by thermal establishments located in Portugal. Indeed, this research focuses on the shift between classic thermal services, considered health services, and wellness services offered by Portuguese thermal establishments and aims to understand such evolution from the perspective of the demand side. The availability of administrative data on registers and receipts generated by Portuguese thermal establishments is not amply exploited in the literature, perhaps due to the simplicity of the data available. However, even if the data are simple, it exists at the moment time series data that allows understanding the evolution between the two thermal branches – data is collected and made available by the Portuguese Direção Geral de Energia e Geologia (DGEG). Therefore, it is possible to apply exploratory data analysis that describes the development and shift of consumer preferences from 2012 until 2021. Methodology: The aim is reached by applying exploratory and cluster data analysis to Portuguese administrative databases containing the number of user registers and income generated from 2012 until 2021 and made publicly available by the Portuguese Direção Geral de Energia e Geologia (DGEG). An exploratory analysis is implemented and complemented by a cluster analysis which allows the grouping of the active thermal establishments according to the change observed. Results: At the beginning of the analysis period, 2012, the global economic and financial crises - that severely hit Portugal – enhanced the demand for classic thermal services, which had the highest demand in the total number of registers, ahead of wellness services. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, in 2019, thermal wellness services accounted for almost 64% of the full thermal services demanded. Due to the close of medical spaces, the demand for wellness services increased even more during the pandemic. However, after the pandemic (2021), the values approached those of 2019. This remarkable development shows how important the wellness services related to wellness tourism have become over the last decade in Portuguese thermal establishments. Cluster analysis allows us to understand that this trend is observed in thermal establishments, which have always been more committed to wellness thermalism, and in more classic establishments. Classic thermalism is required above all by users older than 65 years and looking for the therapeutic effects of thermal water. In this age group, the demand for wellness services is about half (or less) of the market for classic services in the analysis period. Wellness services are demanded mostly by users between 26 and 35. In 2018, there were 34 times more wellness service requests than classic thermal spa services. This conclusion proves that this market demand segment is fundamental for developing suitable strategies to further increase the demand for wellness supply. Children and adolescents also seem to be an age group that needs special attention since their register number is growing over time. Limitations of the research: The research has limitations in terms of the availability of data, particularly detailed data on the different user segments over time and individual data from recent years (2021 and 2021) to assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the shifts between to understand classical and wellness thermalism in more detail. Originality: This research uses administrative data on the registers and income generated in the several active thermal establishments in Portugal to understand its evolution over time (2012 to 2021), mainly before and after the COVID-19 pandemic. This data is being used to introduce the activity in Portugal, but mostly only the overall data is presented and analysed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
