Investigating Factors of Customer Loyalty Formation for Wellness Spa

Abstract

Research question: The objective of this paper is to examine the level of the development of spa tourism with a special review of the wellness tourist offer of the Republic of Serbia, and also which factors of this tourist offer we should pay special attention to and improve, to achieve the highest level of tourist loyalty. Motivation: The tourism potential of the Republic of Serbia has not been sufficiently researched and that served as a basic motivational factor. Idea: Considering the tourist potential that Serbia has and partly the work of Han et al., (2017), the fact that spa tourism is the fastest-growing sector in the entire tourism industry, and that the wellness tourism offer is a very important segment of spa tourism, there is a need to identify factors that influence the visitors' loyalty formation for such tourist destinations. As the Republic of Serbia has a lot of wellness centres, it represents a very convenient location for conducting such research. Data: This research included 298 guests of wellness centres in Vrnjačka Banja: "Solaris", "Aleksandar", "Merkur", "Zepter", "Kralj", "Slatina" and "Iwa Wellness Centre". Data collection was performed during July and August 2019. Methods: The PLS-SEM method was used in this paper to test the defined research hypotheses. Factors that contribute to loyalty and revisit for the wellness and spa tourist destination were investigated, and they were measured by the appropriate number of questions: quality of wellness and spa tourism, the value of wellness and spa services, attraction of wellness and spa tourist destination and satisfaction with wellness and spa tourist destination. All attitudes were measured using a five-point Likert scale. Results: The quality and value of wellness and spa services positively impact the affection for wellness and spa tourist destination and satisfaction with wellness and spa tourist destination, while the attraction of wellness and spa tourist destination positively affects satisfaction with wellness and spa tourist destination and tendency to revisit by tourists. The existence of a positive influence of satisfaction with wellness and spa tourist destination and the desire to revisit the tourist loyalty formation was also shown. Contribution: Improving the quality, value, and effect with the Republic of Serbia as a wellness and spa tourist destination will increase the satisfaction of visitors and their desire to revisit this tourist destination, which will lead to greater loyalty in the future. This will increase the revenue generated from this type of tourism and accelerate local and regional development.

The importance of food and beverages in wellness experiences: a cross-continental analysis of tourists' perceptions

“…a psychological state of pleasure closely linked to the five senses. The hedonic experience associated with F&B is reflected in the pleasure derived from what one eats and drinks; in this sense, several authors have identified how tourists' visits to specific wellness and spa resort and destinations are characterized by this type of experience (Lakićević et al. , 2021; Kiatkawsin and Han, 2017).…”

“…a psychological state of pleasure closely linked to the five senses. The hedonic experience associated with F&B is reflected in the pleasure derived from what one eats and drinks; in this sense, several authors have identified how tourists' visits to specific wellness and spa resort and destinations are characterized by this type of experience (Laki cevi c et al, 2021;Kiatkawsin and Han, 2017). In this logic, alcohol consumption is also depicted as a hedonic, short-lived and relaxing experience (Kim and Yang, 2021), which is why wine consumption can also positively impact the well-being of tourists (Kotur, 2022;Fiore et al, 2019).…”

Multicriteria approach to rural tourism development in Republic of Srpska

“…Ranking using preferences is the most commonly used method in making multi-criteria decisions (Durkalić et al, 2019;Lakićević et al, 2021). Expert assessment is the use of expert knowledge in order to predict future conditions, i.e.…”

Gastronomy as an Effective Tool for Rural Prosperity - Evidence From Rural Settlements in Republic of Serbia

“…Rural settlements become an attractor for tourists, especially in conditions when there was a pandemic, and the local population was looking for a place to escape from urban areas, and to avoid closure during the restrictive measures that had to be observed in certain periods of the previous two and a half years (Blešić et al, 2022). However, foreign tourists are also looking for vacations in rural areas, especially those that are poorly explored and have different natural beauty than what has already been seen in Europe and the world (Kirolova and Hamarnech, 2017; Lakićević et al, 2023). Therefore, Serbia has a huge potential for the future of tourism development, primarily by offering untouched rural areas, where, in addition to enjoying nature, tourists can get to know the tradition, culture, history of the Serbian people and all minorities in this area, but also participate in rural activities provided by rural households (Gajić et al,2022a,c,d).…”