The supply side of wellness

Service providers, who represent the supply side of wellness tourism, offer attractive environment and leisure time activities, complex health preservation and prevention programmes and, at the same time they give an opportunity for their guests to learn about health issues. (OES 2007). There is a difference between active (e.g. sport) and passive (e.g. beauty programmes) wellness, but in both groups there are varied services including traditional medical treatments as well as spiritual programmes. The most significant principles include health-conscious behaviour, regular exercises, healthy eating, refraining from health damaging habits, avoidance of stress, relaxation, mental and spiritual harmony, beauty care, and, at last but not least, environmental awareness. (Albel A. –Tokaji F. 2006).

Wellness hotels are establishments with a minimum of one pool and one sauna or steam bath. In addition they provide a minimum of 5 different ’beauty and style’ services, eleven different therapeutic services and relaxation programmes. It is also one of the basic requirements of wellness hotels to support nutrition reform and to provide guests with opportunities not only  to work out using cardio- and muscle- building machines but also to do different kinds of sports (min. three) and to enable guests to participate in a variety of (at least two) community building programmes. (http://www.mimnet.hu/).

Due to environmental characteristics and innovations new success factors have been identified in the supply of wellness tourism today.  These new trends include for example local authentic treatments (e.g. alpine wellness), several unique services including fitotherapy, vinotherapy, and the  „male segment”. (Smith, M.– Puczkó L. 2010). Unfortunately, at the same time there are cases when using wellness as a buzz word, several providers promote themselves even if their services do not belong to the category of wellnesss. (Hojcska Á. E.– Szabó Z. 2010).