Specificities of Thermalism in Health Tourism: The Mediating Role of the Territory

Wellness is recognized in several research studies as a common term regarding health, quality of life and satisfaction, in association with or replacing wellness. Also, the concept of quality of life is important to complement health tourism. Quality of life is useful in conceptualizing well-being by establishing links between objective and subjective features of this concept. In the search for a better quality of life, individuals look for ways to improve their well-being. In this sense and in the framework of this work, thermalism as a health activity arises as one of the most natural ways to improve well-being. Thermalism is defined as the use of natural mineral water and other complementary methods for prevention, therapy, rehabilitation or wellness. This research proposes a development strategy for thermal springs in the North of Portugal through the identification of the currently existing health and wellness, tourism, cultural and heritage attributes in the region. A qualitative methodology is applied, through semi-structured interviews, having as objectives to contextualize thermal tourism in health tourism and to identify the specialized thermal services available in the thermal regions of Northern Portugal. The results show the existing difficulties in the sector, namely the marked seasonality of demand and human resources, the non-diversity of age among thermal users, the lack of innovative equipment, the impact of the pandemic, the restrictions imposed on the thermal operation during the pandemic, the lack of tourist support structures, the scarcity of available and quality accommodation, the missing municipal and/or regional support, which permanently challenge the sector. In what concerns the identification of the specialized thermal services available in the thermal regions of Northern Portugal, it emerges the availability of opening services for the school community, free transportation and reception of local users in a thermal environment, specific thermal circuits; thermal massages, and differentiating treatments by the mineral-medicinal properties of the thermal waters of each geographical location.