International Trends in Recreational and Wellness Tourism

Abstract

These days the various forms of health tourism are gaining an enhanced role in world tourism and this is also true of the economic performance of some countries. In the last decade, health tourism featuring an on-going development saw a dynamic development primarily in the area of wellness tourism at both national and international levels. The countries with the most significant wellness supplies and tourist movement are located in the first place in Europe (mostly in German-speaking and Mediterranean countries), North America and Southeast Asia (Kiss K. - Török I. 2001, Rátz T. 2004). The general trends such as the enhancement of individualization, demographic transformations, changes in women's social roles, spiritualization, the appreciation of healthy lifestyles have created the social background of the demand for wellness services and products (Friedl H. 2007, Zsigmond E. 2007).As for experts in various areas of science, the wellness market, due to social transformations and the favourable economic performance of the sector, is likely to become one of the fastest developing touristic and economic sectors (Ardell D. 1985, Nefiodov L. 1996, Horx, M. 2001, Scholz, J. 2003, Pilzer, P. 2007). The fact, however, that the various countries are unable to fully exploit the potentials hidden in natural endowments is not exclusively a problem in Hungary; moreover, it leads to the uniformity of supply and endangers the sustainability of natural assets. In the coming decades well-to-do, ageing but at the same time active age groups aspiring for a higher quality of life, particularly in North America, Scandinavia and Western Europe may represent a huge potential for wellness tourism. Regarding wellness data there are no uniform measurement systems, i.e. terminological differences in various countries hinder the comparison of data on recreation and wellness. Both the sector and the customers need more information, data and resources to make wellness services competitive and trustworthy. For this reason, this study seeks to introduce the international and national trends in tourism, including recreational tourism and also to draw up a general picture of the international wellness market.