Web-promotion of Wellness Tourism in Serbia

Lukrecija Djeri, PhDSurvey by Jelena Farkić, Msc

What is wellness?

• Anything that makes one feel good or that is “healthy”

• A state of complete physical,mental and social well-being (World Health Organization)

• A complex concept, containing “elements of lifestyle; physical, mental, and spiritual well-being; and one’s relationship with oneself, others, and environment (Smith and Puczko, 2009)

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The wellness paradigm

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Wellness tourism

• Wellness-minded consumers integrate healthy habits and activities into their lifestyles and their travel

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Wellness tourism

• Wellness tourism is growing 50% faster than the overall tourism industry

• Represents 6% of all domestic and international trips

• Wellness tourists are high-yield tourists who bring greater economic impacts (spend 130% more than regular tourists)

• May improve the well-being of general population

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Wellness tourism by region

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Wellness tourism by region

• The top 5 countries (US, Germany, Japan, France and Austria) account for over half of the market (63% of expenditures)

• Countries that receive the most inbound international tourist arrivals – US, France, Austria, Germany and Switzerland

• Countries that have the most domestic wellness tourism trips: US, Germany, Japan, China, France

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The future of Wellness Tourism

$438.6

billion

$678.5

billion

• Projected to grow by 9.1% annually through 2017

• Over half of the projected growth will take place in Asia, Latin America and the Middle East

• In Europe top countries for growth – Germany, Switzerland, Poland, Russia, Turkey, Spain, Czech, Hungary

2013

2017

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The goal of the research

• Analyze the web sites (and wellness offer) of the hospitals, health institutes, wellness centers, hotels and resorts in Serbian spas

• Analyze the ways spas communicate with their existing and prospective clients via the internet

• Set up the theoretical grounds for wellness service providers to innovate, reinvent and promote their service packages and develop and/or improve their communicative capacities with prospective consumers

Growing demand

Hard competiti

on

Visibility in media

Conducted by Farkić & Romanov (2014)

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The current situation in Serbia

Statistical Yearbook of the Republic of Serbia, 2013

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Spa resources in Serbia

• A country rich in thermal and mineral waters (over 1000), mud and air

• Over 40 spas

• Royal Serbian Spas

• Most of the spas are malfunctioning due to the isolated development and the false service structure

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The current situation in Hungary

• Approximately 450 public baths in Hungary

• 50 public baths are qualified as spas

• Budapest has the richest supply of thermal water among the capitals of the world

• Bath operators modernizing their facilities and expanding the services offered

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How much are the Serbian wellness facilities promoted online?

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Method

• Web site analysis of the wellness centers in the spas featured on the official web site of the National Tourism Organization of Serbia

• Survey construction, 2 series of questions – sent to 40 emails in 16 Serbian spas

• Response rate 20%

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Results

* Republic Health Insurance Fund; ** Special Hospital for Rehabilitation; ***Patients with a referral

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"Banja Kan-jiža“

"Rusanda“ Hotel "Royal Drina"

"Niška banja“

"Prolom Banja“

"Ribarska Banja“

"Banjica“ "Dr Borivoje Gnjatić“

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

109

10

4

10

6

3 3

0

Wellness services

Sauna 62.5%; jacuzzi 50%, fitness programs and salt room 25% cycling, aquafitness, aromatherapy, cosmetics, pearl baths, solarium, tapidarium: less than 25% 16

The ways of promotion of wellnes services

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• All the observed centers are reachable across the internet by a click on their web site address but only 50% of them do not have their banners on other web sites.

• 50% do not have an interactive web sites in terms of the online reservations, choosing the wellness offer, promotional packages or even the possibility for dynamic packaging.

• The most frequent consumers are couples, followed by the youth and seniors equally.

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Cooling Cubes: IPA Cross-border Co-operation

Programme

• The aim is to elaborate an integrated spa development strategy based on the cross-border cooperation between Serbia and Hungary

• Budapest – Belgrade axis - a large number of spas with different characteristics and possibilities

• Thirty of the spas attract approximately 2,5 million visitors per year.

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Conclusion

• This preliminary study was undertaken in order to help the local spas to make their web sites more effective with a view to retaining existing and attracting new clients

• It is to be hoped that this pilot research will help to encourage spa managers to pay better attention to the personalized e-marketing.

• Obtaining precise customer profiles might help them to elaborate more efficient strategies to approach the prospective clients.

• While the spa industry’s virtual presence will continue to grow, room has to be made for wellness tourism, as it is obvious that this is an era of integrated spa, fitness, health, spiritual, wellness and beauty facilities, which are all communicated via the Internet.

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Thank you for your attention

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