QUALITY & COMPETITIVENESS OF KVARNER'S HEALTH TOURISM

SERVICES

Milena Peršić, PhD, Full professor

University of Rijeka,

Faculty of Tourism and Hospitality Management Opatija

The Content

• Research framework❖ Theoretical research framework

❖ Case study - Kvarner tourism destination

❖ Elements in the applied research model

• Research findings & discussion❖ Health tourism as a motive for choosing the Kvarner

tourism destination

❖ Achieved level of tourism and health tourism development in the Kvarner tourism destination

❖ Expectations related to improving the quality and competitiveness of health-tourism services in the Kvarner tourism destination

❖ Medical tourism services in the Kvarner tourism destination

❖ Wellness and spa services in the Kvarner tourism destination

❖ Programs, projects and approaches to improve the quality and competitiveness of health tourism in the Kvarner tourism destination

• Conclusion

Research framework

competitiveness

quality

Kvarner tourism destination

health tourism(medical tourism, wellness tourism, spa services … )

strategic goals in national and regional strategies, and destination policy

globally accepted trends, directions, standards, EU scenarios and best

practice examples

HEALTH TOURISM SERVICES

Theoretical research framework

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Why Kvarner tourism destination?

• Kvarner is recognized in the national tourism strategy as the destination with highest potential for health tourism development (eg. long tradition, significant health-care as well as tourism potential …);

• Orientation on the health tourism development is acceptable because of growing destination managements' interest for extending season, with an emphasis on the high quality of health-tourism products;

• This research is seeking an answer to the following questions:whether and to what extent Kvarners' destination potentials are actually used in the health tourism development, and how can they be directed, following global trends and other influential factors;

• The research is based on the theoretical as well as for this purpose especially designed / applied research model

Case Study: Kvarner Tourism Destination ( Primorsko-Goranska County )

National tourism strategy

Elements in the applied research model

Source: Author processing

Research findings & discussion

Quality &competitiveness

Programs, projects and approaches to

improve the health-tourism quality and competitiveness, of the Kvarner tourism

destination

Kvarner tourism destination

Development level of medical, wellness andspa services in the Kvarner tourism destination

Health tourism as a motive for choosing the Kvarner

tourism destination

Achieved level of tourism and health tourism development and expectations

of improvement in the Kvarner tourism destination

Health tourism as a motive for choosing a Kvarner tourism destination

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Motives for choosing Croatia as a tourism destination

• Rest and relaxation

(passive) (54,9%)

• New experiences (31,1%)

• Gastronomy (29%)

• Natural attractions (26,2%)

• Entertainment (24,2%)

• Sport and recreation

(19,8%)

• Culture (12,3%)

Source: Marušić, Z., Čorak, S., Sever, I. (2018) TOMAS Summer Survey 2017 - Attitudes and expenditures of tourists in Croatia, Institut za turizam, Zagreb, pp 31/32

• Visits to relatives and friends

(9,8%)

• Wellness (7,6%)

• Health (6,9%)

• Diving (6,1%)

• Shopping (3,2%)

• Business (2,5%)

• Religion (1%)

• Other motives (0,6%)

Achieved level of tourism and health tourism

development in the Kvarner tourism destination

(1) natural resources, security , geog. position

(2) hu

man

resou

rces

the

qu

ality of th

e co

nte

nt

is no

t satisfactory

Expectations related to improving the quality and competitiveness of health-tourism services in the Kvarner

tourism destination

very high expectations from the viewpoint of

health tourismusers (demand) and

providers (supply)

Key success factors for health tourism

development

THE KEY CRITERIA:

a) for selecting health tourism institutions / health care facilities:

• qualification and recognition of a doctor (recognizable experts), • consistent achievement of good results, • appearance of the institution, • knowledge of foreign language and staff kindness, • availability of unique therapies, good value for money • quality of health services (accreditations / certificates)…

b) for choosing foreign destination:

• general image of the country, political situation .. • geographic and traffic position / location (by target markets)• personal safety and security• cultural affiliation with Europe (EU membership)• healthy environment (preserved nature and sea, pleasant climate … )• road and air accessibility (direct and low cost flights)

Telišman Košuta, N., Marušić, Z. (2018) Percepcija Hrvatske kao destinacije zdravstvenog turizma na tržištu posrednika //Perception of Croatia as a destination for health tourism in the intermediary market, Institut za turizam, Zagreb, pp. 7-11

Medical tourism services in Kvarner

tourism destination

growing demand for these kind of services in the EU and worldwide

Health care indeks (2018)

(Health care indeks 1-100)

Top on the global level

1.South Korea 83,4

2. Taiwan 823. Japan 82,75. Thailand 80,9

The EU countries(global position)

4. Netherlands 81,16. Belgium 807. Austria 78,88. France 7810. Spain 77,511.Denmark 77,113. Germany

& Finland 75,4 …

32. Italy 6839. Slovenia

64,7 …64. Hungary

51,1 …

CROATIA41. (63,8)

Source: Health Care Index for Country 2018, NUMBEO, available at https://www.numbeo.com/health-care/rankings_by_country.jsp?title=2018 (22.08.2019)

Health Care Index is an estimation of the overall quality of the health care system, health care professionals, equipment, staff, doctors, cost, etc.

Wellness and spa services in the Kvarner

tourism destination

body & beauty

spirit & mind

Global wellness trend

1. Mushrooms Emerge from Underground (Whether “magic” or medicinal, mushrooms’ superpowers come to light)

2. A New Era of Transformative Wellness Travel (Circuits, sagas and epic storylines)

3. Reframing the First 1,000 Days(Preconception & paternity enter the health equation)

4. The Wellness Kitchen (Kitchens catch up with healthy eating)

5. Getting our “Clean Air Act” Together(Taking personal responsibility for the air we breathe)

6. Extreme Wellness (Hacking our way to better brains, bodies and overall well-being)

7. Wellness Meets Happiness (The new happiness science indicates where wellness must godrive more social connection and tech disconnection)

8. A New Feminist Wellness(From a surge in women-only, wellness-infused clubs and co-working spaces - to a storm of Fem Tech “solving” for women’s bodies)

1. Well Fashion – Way Beyond Athleisure (A new era of sustainable, ethical, intelligent, healing, more inclusive and meaningful clothing )

2. Wellness Takes on Overtourism (With overtourism the #1 issue facing the travel industry today—wellness tourism will provide an antidote, pulling people to less trafficked, healthier destinations)

3. Meditation Goes Plural (People get clearer about the core meditation types and their unique brain impacts as this explosive market also blooms into many varietals)

4. Prescribing Nature (There is enough science about the health benefits of nature to get the attention of the medical profession)

5. MediScent: Fragrance Gets a Wellness Makeover (A new understanding of scent’s crucial role in our physical and emotional wellbeing)

6. China – Uncovering the Wealth in Wellness (Suddenly an economic, political and tech powerhouse, China will be a force that transforms the wellness market)

7. Nutrition Gets Very Personalized (Diet confusion, new tech and the “power of me” propel personalized nutrition into mainstream)

8. Dying Well (Dying is finally becoming part of the wellness conversation, and everything around death is getting rethought: from what a healthy end-of-life looks like to a surge in eco-friendly and creative burial options)

2018. 2019.

Source: Global Wellness Trends Report 2018 & 2019, Global Wellness Summit,Miami 2017–2018 (pp 2-95) & 2018 – 2019 (pp 2 – 109)

Programs, projects and approaches to improve the quality

and competitiveness of health tourism in the Kvarner

tourism destination

?

?

(1)

(2)

EU scenarios for health-tourism

development

„A policy scenario aiming at enhancing health in the EU through further developing and integrating health tourism and healthcareand using the opportunities for PREVENTION rather than cure may have better potential for the general good than a scenario aiming at just economic growth of the health-tourism market. The latter may provide benefits to the economy, but it may also come with a risk of increased costs for the regular healthcare systems. In a scenario where health policies prioritize improving health, there is a role for the TOURISM AND HOSPITALITY SECTOR to cooperate with the HEALTH SECTOR by exchanging experiences and requirements for accommodation, transport, services, employee competences, etc. that help to facilitate accommodation and mobility for less-abled visitors or visitors requiring special treatments".

Source: Mainil at al. (2017) Research for TRAN Committee - Health Tourism in the EU: a general investigation, European Parliament, Transport and Tourism, Directorate General for Internal Policies, Policy Department for

Structural and Cohesion Policies, Brussels, IP/B/TRAN/IC/2016-134, PE 601.985, EN, June 2017, pp.10

Conclusion

Research results on the quality & competitiveness of Kvarner health tourism services indicate that existing potentials have not been sufficiently used.

There are significant opportunities for improvements, primarily:

• health tourism services need to be more profiled and aligned with existing and potential demand, and should be focused on specific niches (target audience)

• health-tourism market position should be based on recognizable and successful treatments, specifics of the resources, knowledge and skills of employees as well as on more favorable and competitive prices

• greater emphasis should be placed in promoting the use of the natural healing factors („Kvarner effect”)

• quality in health-tourism institutions should be raised through the system of relevant accreditation / certification

• focus investments on raising the international reputation in line with the requirements of the target market

• raise the level of internal and external communication and networking

• the legal framework should be systematically improved, towards achieving better position of public and private health tourism institutions on the target market

• existing comparative advantages should be systematically translated into competitive advantages

Thank you for your attention!

Prof. MILENA PERŠIĆ, PhDUniversity of Rijeka,

Faculty of Tourism and Hospitality Management Opatija E-mail: milena.persic@fthm.hr