Segmentation by push motives in health tourism destinations: A case study of Polish spa resorts

Abstract The aim of the paper is to segment tourists visiting medical (traditional) spa resorts and examine the underlying factors that motivate them. Survey data were collected from 2050 tourists to spa resorts in Poland, using a self-administered questionnaire. A factor-clustering method used in the study identified three groups of push motives: treatment, prevention and tourism, as well as three distinct segments of tourists to Polish spa resorts: treatment seekers, wellness and treatment seekers, and tourism, treatment and wellness seekers. The results indicated that the segments differ from each other with respect to socio-demographic, behavioural and psychographic factors. The segments delineated have important implications for scholars, allowing them to understand the socio-demographic profile of tourists visiting spa resorts, their behaviours and the way they evaluate services, infrastructure and attractiveness of spa resorts, as well as for local governments and enterprises engaged in marketing and development in European medical spa resorts.