The economic and social value of spa tourism: The case of balneotherapy in Maresme, Spain

Abstract

The aim of this article is to assess both the economic and social value of balneotherapy and spa tourism, being the first paper in carrying out this analysis. The study has been conducted in Maresme, a region of Catalonia, Spain. On the one hand, an Input-Output (IO) model with a Social Accounting Matrix (SAM) has been carried out to assess the economic value. On the other hand, a Cost-Benefit Analysis (CBA) has been used to monetise the social value in this region, taking into account, among other concepts, direct and indirect health profits, given that balneotherapy helps to alleviate various diseases. The results show that whereas the economic multiplier is 1.529 considering the direct and indirect effects and 1.712 taking into account also the induced effects, which are similar to health and medical tourism multipliers, social value generates additional positive value, given that the cost-benefit ratio is 1.858. The theoretical implications of the paper as well as the findings’ implications for policy so as to encourage investments in spa tourism are discussed.

Health Tourism—Subject of Scientific Research: A Literature Review and Cluster Analysis

“…In recent years, there has been a noticeable increase in the number of people traveling for health reasons [54][55][56][57][58]. Many scientists indicate that domestic and international health destinations are attractive mostly because of the differences in prices of products and services offered [59][60][61][62]. According to [62,63], a broad range of tourism services and products-combined with the patients and their accompanying persons having an enjoyable stay in a tourist destination-has a clear positive effect on their health.…”