Therapeutic Landscape as Value Added in the Structure of the Destination-Specific Therapeutic Tourism Product: The Case Study of Polish Spa Resorts

Abstract

The aim of the paper is to describe how therapeutic landscape creates value added for tourists in spa resorts. Survey data were collected from 184 tourists to Swoszowice spa resort in Poland using a self-administered questionnaire. The results indicated that the way the therapeutic landscape creates value added for tourists differs concerning socio-demographic, behavioural and psychographic factors. The conclusions have important implications for scholars, allowing them to understand the importance of the therapeutic landscape and its determinants for tourists. Knowledge of how tourists assess landscape aesthetics, which constitute value added in the structure of the destination-specific therapeutic tourism product (DSTTP), is essential for local government entities and managers of treatment enterprises to develop and manage a therapeutic product that meets the needs of their customers. The present paper fills the gap in the subject literature, which lacks studies assessing the therapeutic landscape as one of the elements in the structure of DSTTP.