Classical Versus Wellness Thermalism: The Case of Portuguese Thermal Establishments Before and After the COVID-19 Pandemic

Thermal/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.