SPA AND WELLNESS TOURISM - THE EXAMPLE OF THE CITY OF SKOPJE

Abstract

Spa and wellness tourism today is a reality that companies engaged in the hotel industry must be aware of when setting up their facilities. It was considered before that this type of tourism is related only to the clientele that uses it for health reasons. It is no longer the case. Other people are potential consumers of this type of tourism. It stems from the fact that consumers who use such services have greater and more sophisticated requirements and want to meet other types of needs. The main thing is that in this process, the additional value must be obtained in which both parties will be satisfied - consumers and providers of these services. This type of tourism, in turn, implies the need for more extensive investment in providing that content, and therefore in that process, there is a need for greater engagement of the community. It means appropriate aid by providing various types of financial assistance - non-repayable funds (grants), loans with lower interest rates and other types of assistance, especially of a logistical nature. Also, there is a need for the proper education of the local tourist workers for providing this type of services, including an appropriate promotion of the broader interested community for the possibility of using spa and wellness tourism in the tourist facilities throughout the calendar year. These were the main reasons for writing this paper, and we focused on assessing the real situation in terms of spa and wellness tourism within the municipality of Skopje. For that purpose, we constructed a survey questionnaire and by analyzing the obtained answers, using appropriate statistical tools and methods, we gained appropriate knowledge regarding the development of this type of tourism to achieve sustainable economic growth.