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- Classical Versus Wellness Thermalism: The Case of Portuguese Thermal Establishments Before and After the COVID-19 PandemicPublication . Alves, Maria José; Nunes, Alcina; Alves, Jéssica; Gonçalves, Estelle SilvaThermal/mineral springs are one of the fastest-growing subcategories of wellness tourism. Indeed, it is an activity that has steadily increased in all of Europe’s developed economies over the last few decades. The pandemic has raised awareness of the importance of healthy lifestyles and has subsequently led to a surge in consumption of experiences and travel, somehow motivated by wellness. This study analyses the evolution of thermal users’ alternation between wellness and classical thermalism in Portugal. The objective is achieved by applying exploratory and cluster data analysis to a Portuguese administrative database containing the number of user registers and revenues generated from 2012 to 2022. During this period, the wellness registers increased in most thermal establishments compared to the classic records, even if service diversification may be found in most thermal establishments. Still, the financial value added by wellness consumers does not seem to follow the previously observed shift. The establishments with more classical registers are still the ones that are able to generate the highest income per person.
- How Sociodemographic Characteristics May Affect the Thermal User's Perception of Illness, Quality of Life, Sleep Quality and Disability. A Portuguese Case StudyPublication . Nunes, Alcina; Pereira, Ana Margarida; Gonçalves, Estelle Silva; Alves, Jéssica; Alves, Maria JoséLiterature shows that thermal spas’ users seek thermal spas for therapeutic and wellness reasons. If the effective improvement in the user’s health status needs to be confirmed by clinical tests, the perceived improvement in the user’s quality of life may be assessed using different validated quality of life scales like the EQ-5D-5L or the EUROHIS-QOL-8. Moreover, it is possible to use validated scales like BaSIQS to determine sleep quality, the HAQ-DI to evaluate the user’s disability awareness, and the B-IPB to assess illness perception. All these scales were applied to a sample of users of the thermal treatments in Termas de Chaves, the second-biggest thermal spa in Portugal, before and after 14 days of treatment, allowing to gather an important set of statistical data to assess the evolution of the user’s perception illness, quality of life, sleep quality and disability. Therefore, this research aims to understand if the sociodemographic characteristics of thermal users influence the results obtained. Therefore, a binomial logistic regression is applied to identify the user’s features that affect the differences in the user’s perception before and after treatments. The results show that, in general, after treatments, the users’ perception is positive. However, only some characteristics of the users are statistically significant to explain such users’ perceptions.
- Evolution of Demand for Portuguese Thermal Spas: An Exploratory Data Analysis of Administrative DataPublication . Alves, Jéssica; Alves, Maria José; Nunes, AlcinaWell-being or positive health is not a new concept; However, since the mid-twentieth century, scientific institutions have addressed the issue and its implications for medicine and public health. It can be observed that wellness and healthy living are becoming more and more important in society. Consequently, there is na increased need to look for products and services that mitigate the risk of these diseases associated with modern society. Thus, a fusion between tourism and wellness emerges, with thermal spas being an essential factor in the health and wellness promotion equation. In Portugal, thermal services are well known. However, the demand for its services is subject to difficulties well observed during the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, it is fundamental to characterize the Portuguese thermal market on the demand side to segment it and find the best strategy to meet the user needs. Secondly, it is relevant to understand the weight of each segment in the market. Focusing on the division between classic thermal services—considered therapeutical health services—and wellness services provided by Portuguese termal establishments, this research aims to characterize the thermal market on the demand side. In particular, the study seeks to understand how wellness services are evolving regarding the total demand for Portuguese thermal establishments. Based on the descriptive analysis of administrative data of registers in all the Portuguese termal establishments, it is possible to conclude that the increasing demand for thermalism products and services (both therapeutic and wellness) suffered a severe crash with the financial crisis and the Covid-19 pandemic. Age is an essential factor that distinguishes the market segment of the therapeutic thermal offer. The consumers of such a thermal component are older than the ones demanding wellness services. Finally, specific international markets (France, Spain, and the United Kingdom) become more important in the user’s segments.