Spa Tourism – a comparative analysis on Spain and Romania

Abstract

Spa tourism is one of the oldest forms of tourism, capitalizing on the curative properties of mineral waters ever since antiquity. At first, the results of such treatments were questioned by health professionals, but the results of numerous studies conducted on the properties of these therapeutic factors have earned them the credibility needed in order to be prescribed by general practitioners as complementary forms of treatment. Spa tourism is becoming increasingly important in Romania and Spain, especially since both countries are characterized by low birth rates, making health care for the elderly population a priority. The annual spa cure is encouraged with social programs such as "One Week of Recovery" or IMSERSO which facilitate the purchase of health tourism packages for retired citizens. This research is aimed at highlighting modern health tourism through a comparative analysis of two hotel units specialized in spa treatments, one in Romania and one in Spain. In order to collect the information I used the interview method, the observation method and desk research -in the case of information generated from the online environment. The data were collected between January and May 2015.