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Application of a Decision-Making Tool for Ranking Wellness Tourism Destinations

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  • Ana Paula Lopes

    (Centre for Organizational and Social Studies of Polytechnic of Porto, Porto Accounting and Business School, Mathematics Department, Polytechnic of Porto, 4200-465 Porto, Portugal)

  • Nuria Rodríguez-López

    (Faculty of Business Sciences and Tourism, ECOBAS, Universidade de Vigo, 36310 Orense, Spain)

Abstract

One of the tourism industry’s segments with the strongest growth rates today is health tourism. Health tourism includes two subgroups: medical tourism (traveling outside one’s country of residence for the purpose of receiving medical care, such as surgery and health services) and wellness tourism (travel to specific locations for health promotion in a preventive way). The economic strength and sustainable growth of nations can both benefit from health tourism. This study applies a methodology to quantify the potential of Portuguese wellness tourism (thermal spas in Northern Portugal) using a multi-criteria decision making (MCDM) tool, namely the preference ranking organization method for enrichment evaluations (PROMETHEE) and geometrical analysis for interactive aid (GAIA), to achieve a robust evaluation and ranking the alternatives. Therefore, in this study, the aim is to rank ten thermal spas in Northern Portugal in terms of fifteen indicators, mostly related to digital services, containing the tourism data obtained between 2020 and 2022. The suggested approach offers trustworthy and reliable outcomes for any qualitative or quantitative criteria to assess thermal spas, which is crucial for consumers, businesses, and even governments. The results showed that PROMETHEE and GAIA can be implemented as an effective method in wellness tourism destinations evaluation.

Suggested Citation

  • Ana Paula Lopes & Nuria Rodríguez-López, 2022. "Application of a Decision-Making Tool for Ranking Wellness Tourism Destinations," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(23), pages 1-19, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:14:y:2022:i:23:p:15498-:d:980107
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Gulyas Greta & Molnar Elisabeta Ilona, 2023. "Wellness Tourism Management Research A bibliometric analysis," Management & Marketing, Sciendo, vol. 18(2), pages 172-191, June.
    2. Shengrui Zhang & Lei Chi & Tongyan Zhang & Yingjie Wang, 2023. "Optimization of Tourism Management Based on Regional Tourism Competitiveness Evaluation: Evidence from Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(12), pages 1-22, June.
    3. Ming Xu & Chunjing Bai & Lei Shi & Adis Puška & Anđelka Štilić & Željko Stević, 2023. "Assessment of Mountain Tourism Sustainability Using Integrated Fuzzy MCDM Model," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(19), pages 1-24, September.
    4. Diana-Teodora Trip & Ramona Simut & Daniel Badulescu, 2023. "Do Size and Ownership Determine the Willingness for Sustainable Innovations in Spa and Health Tourism? A Case Study on Baile Felix Spa Resort, Romania," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(19), pages 1-17, October.

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