In Romania, the idea of health and, in particular, obtaining it through medical treatments based on the therapeutic waters of local spas is perceived as a physical cure, where the health of the body is the main subject¹. Wellness is much more than that, treating the body, mind and spirit of the individual. In addition, these therapies are based on prevention rather than fighting disease. It is therefore essential to look at the wellness sector in relation to other forms of tourism spa.

There is a clear distinction between medical treatments, wellness therapies carried out in a spa and recreational bathing.

Although these are three distinctly different directions, they can often be joined together resulting in more complex forms of spa facilities which may or may not be more effective. Therefore, the fundamental differences between these branches of spa tourism lie in the primary purpose of the consumer. Medical tourism, widely practiced in the 20th century, assumes that the individual is in poor health and wishes to improve it by practising a spa treatment medically, usually in a spa, for 10-14-21 days, on prescription.

In contrast, those who practice wellness therapies, as mentioned above, want to achieve a general well-being of body, mind and spirit through preventive methods. At the same time as these two branches, there are also tourists who opt for recreational holidays, where bathing is simply a leisure activity, with no aim to achieve or maintain health.

Despite the fact that wellness therapy can often also take place in a medical institution where various cures are practiced, specialists emphasize that a very clear distinction must be made between the two sectors². So while some treatments may resemble or are even the same, the underlying goal, whether prevention or cure, makes this very strong contrast that demarcates one branch from the other. It is also important to know that a base has the infrastructure, for the most part, so that it can offer a range of wellness therapies and that often the provider of these services may even be the same actor. This is why we find predominantly complex facilities offering services ranging from accommodation to food, medical treatments and wellness therapies. A good example is the Palace Hotel (Băile Govora). But despite all this wellness services stand out as a distinctly different branch.

It is preferable for a spa to be physically separate from a treatment center, operating in separate buildings, even if they are close to each other.

This is often very difficult and requires much larger investments in much larger spa resorts. It is worth noting that people who use wellness therapies want to stay in a relaxing, intimate and pleasant environment, away from the sick. Even more so, those who come for medical treatments want to arrive in a well-lit, hygienic space - generally white. The same contrast appears in the image of the staff treating these people, where the image of a doctor is very different from that of a spa therapist. In the images below, you can see the contrast between the medicalized image of a treatment center and a spa facility.

Therefore, it is not always possible, it is preferable that a spa is clearly separated from a treatment center, despite a number of similar therapies or duplication of part of the spa infrastructure, the target audience is quite different.  

AUTHOR

arh. Ica PAPARI

ica.papari@gmail.com

SOURSE:

1 - IORDACHE C., SÎRBU A. CIOCHINĂ I., 2016, "Coordinates Of Developing The Spa Tourism" in Management Strategies Journal, Constantin Brancoveanu University, vol. 31(1), pp. 308-316;

2 - MUELLER, H., KAUFMANN, E. L., 2001, "Wellness tourism: Market analysis of a special health tourism segment and implications for the hotel industry" in Journal of Vacation Marketing, No.7;

Photo sources:

1 - Photo source: https://www.bailegovora.ro/images/galerie-balneo/_MG_2030.jpg;

2 - Photo source: https://www.bailegovora.ro/images/galerie-wellness-spa/_MG_1817.jpg;

3 - Photo source: https://www.imagenesmy.com/imagenes/aqua-park-caciulata-00.html;