Abstract
ABSTRACT Spa destination branding as a niche within health tourism has been comparatively little addressed in the relevant scientific literature at present. This is a gap in research, the need for positioning on highly competitive national and international health tourism markets is necessary to ensure continued existence and economic success. The COVID-19 crisis intensifies this pressure on destinations and spa operations. Five spa destinations, linked through public ownership structures, launched a joint brand development process. The first phase, under the guidance of leading consulting firm “BrandTrust”, accompanied by experts of Deggendorf Institute of Technology, was completed in 2021. The concept is now being rolled out in the destinations, for which three strategic projects have been defined. In the article, this participatory approach to the development of a tourist brand is presented and analysed. The importance of the orientation on common values through branding is showed on the example of the underlying case which is an ongoing process of development. The authors report there are no competing interests to declare.
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