Health and Wellness Tourism

Recommended Prerequisites

Not applicable.

 

Teaching Methods

1) Lectures; 2) Research project on a topic chosen by the student; 3) Observation of an active health and wellness tourism project (technical visits).

Learning Outcomes

- Understand the meaning of thermal activities and their importance the evolution of travel and tourism;

- Critically analyze the process of appropriation of thermal activities by different players;  

- Understand the evolutionary framework of the concept of health and wellness and its association with tourism;

- Identify the driving forces associated with the development of health and wellness tourism

- Interpreting the evolutionary process of the use and meaning of the body in contemporary societies and establish its relationship with the medical health and tourism segment;

- Understand the motivations/meanings of different segments of health and wellness tourism.

Work Placement(s)

No

Syllabus

1. Hydrotherapy as precursor activity for Health and Wellness Tourism

1.1  Thermal Spaces as a tourist destination (18th and 19th centuries);

2. Rise and decline of hydrotherapy and bathing tourism (19th and 20th centuries 

2.1  The growth of the thermal sector in Portugal: activity and user profile;

2.2  Social Hydrotherapy: Portugal and Europe

3. Health and wellness Tourism: concept and expanding demand

3.1  The concept of health and the concept of wellness, evolution and complementarity;

3.2  Rebalancing health. Concept of prevention and health promotion in the context of hydrotherapy activities;

3.3  Health Tourism: medical and non-medical. Fundamentals of supply and demand;

3.4  The responsibility of the individual in relation to individual levels of health and well-being (healthism);

4. Health and Wellness Tourism: future prospects;

4.1  Strategic Tourism Plan, critical analysis.

Head Lecturer(s)

Carlos Manuel Batista Cardoso Ferreira

Assessment Methods

Assessment
Report of a seminar or field trip: 10.0%
Other: 10.0%
Research work: 80.0%

Bibliography

Borman, E. (2004).Healthtourism. Wherehealthcare, ethics, and the state collide.British Medical Journal. Nº328, pp. 60–61

Ferreira, C. (1994). Os usos sociais do termalismo: práticas, representações e identidades sociais dos frequentadores das termas da Curia. Tese de Mestrado. FEUC

Gustavo, N. S. (2010).  Os novos Espaços de Lazer, Turismo e saúde em Portugal, o caso dos SPA. Tese de Doutoramento. FLUC.

Medeiros, C., L.; Cavaco, C. (2008) Turismo de Saúde e Bem-estar. Termas, spas termais e talassoterapia. Univ. Católica Portuguesa.

Smith, M.; Puczkó, L. (2009) Health and Wellness Tourism. Elsevier

Ramos, A.V. (2005) O termalismo em Portugal. Dos factores de obstrução á revitalização pela dimensão turística. Tese de Doutoramento. DEGEI. Univ. Aveiro.

Connell, J. (2006) Medical tourism: Sea, sun, sand and … surgery.Tourism Management.Vol. 27, I 6, Dec.