Chapter 7 The Importance of Human Presence in Wellness and Spa Tourism
DOI: 10.23912/9781915097859-6115 | ISBN: 9781915097859 |
Published: June 2025 | Component type: chapter |
Published in: Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Tourism, Hospitality and Events | Parent DOI: 10.23912/9781915097859-5932 |
Abstract
The years following the 2020 global Covid-19 pandemic, saw an exponential increase in the population paying attention to their health, which boosted the wellness industry, as people turned towards holistic therapies in a bid to improve mental and physical wellbeing (Tiwari & Hashmi, 2022). The psychological and physical effects of the coronavirus were global, so the new demand was experienced across both existing and new destinations (Sivanandamoorthy, 2021). This heightened awareness of health and well-being led to a focus upon implementing lifestyle changes for a better life, resulting in an increase towards wellness travel to escape the daily stress of life from the pandemic (Choudhary & Qadir, 2021). Tiwari and Hashmi (2022) confirm that this renewed interest in health and wellbeing impacted and influenced the growth of the spa and wellness industry. The industry has traditionally been built upon interpersonal quality, which Clemes et al. (2020) defines as the quality of the relationship between the customer and service provider. Frost et al. (2023) further discuss how the industry has been critically reliant upon human dimensions, where there is an intense employee to customer relationship. The industries response is devoted to improving the well-being of its customers through personal and immersive experiences which engage the senses (Lo et al., 2015).
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Contributors
- Jennie Underwood, University of Cumbria (Author)
- Demos Parapanos, University of Cumbria (Author) https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8720-3334
- Tim Heap, University of Cumbria (Author)
For the source title:
- Roya Rahimi, Reader in Marketing and Leisure Management , University of Wolverhampton, Business School, UK (Editor) https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7520-3273
- Nikolaos Stylos, Associate Professor (Reader) in Marketing and Digital Innovation , University of Bristol, UK (Editor) https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1626-0088
- Professor Eva M. Navarro-López, Full Professor, School of Interactive Games and Media , Golisano College of Computing and Information Sciences, Rochester Institute of Technology, USA (Editor) https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8762-6943
- Professor Prashant Pillai MBE, Pro Vice-Chancellor for Research and Knowledge Exchange, , University of Wolverhampton, UK (Editor) https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5314-5030
Cite as
Underwood, Parapanos & Heap, 2025
Underwood, J., Parapanos, D. & Heap, T. (2025) "Chapter 7 The Importance of Human Presence in Wellness and Spa Tourism" In: Rahimi, R., Stylos, N., Navarro-López, P.E.M., MBE, P.P.P. & , (ed) . Oxford: Goodfellow Publishers http://dx.doi.org/10.23912/9781915097859-6115
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