Development Perspectives of Wellness and Spa Tourism in the context of the tourism business sustainability

The main objective of this research was to present Serbia as a destination for wellness and spa tourism, bearing in mind the fact that there are about 1000 springs in this area with a potential for tourism. Then again, since there are only about 40 active spas in Serbia, the aim of this paper is to show the positive aspects of the development of this form of tourism. For this, the example of good practice of the Bad Gastein Spa (Austria) was used, considering the similarities in the quality and medicinal properties of the water, which was analyzed and compared back in the 19th century. We wanted to use this example of good practice to show all the advantages of the development of wellness and spa tourism. A total of 462 respondents participated, of which 227 were residents of Sokobanja (Serbia), while 235 were from the Bad Gastein Spa (Austria). The authors surveyed the local population by staying in these spas, using a random sample system, and then compared the respondents’ answers. The results showed the positive impacts of the development of wellness and spa tourism in Austria, but also the willingness of the local population of Serbia to develop a modern spa concept related to wellness and spa tourism. It can be concluded that Sokobanja should position itself on the tourist market by creating its own identity through the development of wellness and spa tourism. Wellness and spa tourism in Serbia must be recognized as a priority sustainable form of tourism by decision makers at the highest level. The authors believe that the positive experiences of the development of wellness and spa tourism in Sokobanja will have a domino effect for the activation, transformation and development of all other potential spas in Serbia.