Active lifestyle health tourism

The tourism industry has experienced steady growth and is making an increasingly significant contribution to global and regional value added. Health tourism represents one of the most significant developments in this sector and experienced a marked upswing at the beginning of the 21st century. In recent years, particularly since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, a clear trend has emerged: travelers are increasingly prioritizing an active, healthy lifestyle and specifically seeking health-oriented vacations with an emphasis on physical activity. This demand is driven by factors such as a lack of physical activity, work-related stress, and limited contact with nature, as well as by more leisure time, growing health awareness, and a greater willingness to invest in one’s own well-being. Since trends significantly influence the behavior of today’s consumers, it is necessary to examine whether existing definitions fully account for these changes in demand and consumer behavior. To bridge this gap, the study proposes to reconceptualize health tourism for consumers with active lifestyles within the continuum of medical and wellness tourism and to develop a conceptual framework that captures this new trend through its core elements. This framework provides a foundation for understanding the trend of “active lifestyle health tourism” and its impact on supply and demand by characterizing the target group. Furthermore, it serves as a basis for future empirical research in this area.

• Enormous market potential: Theglobal health tourism market is viewed as a massive growth sector.
• Catalytic effect of the pandemic: TheCOVID-19 pandemic has significantly intensified travelers’ focus on preventive health, outdoor exercise, and nature experiences, and has accelerated existing trends.
• Identified barriers to development: Factorssuch as inadequate infrastructure, a lack of global information, and inconsistent definitions of subsectors currently make it difficult to fully realize the economic potential.
• Importance of digital innovations: Theuse of technologies such as health apps, virtual fitness training, and personalized tracking is considered crucial for increasing the accessibility and appeal of these offerings.
• Need for co-creation: To be successful, providers should develop their experiences in collaboration with customers (co-creation) to ensure that offerings are precisely tailored to the needs of the active target audience.
• Need for scientific validation: Since the presented framework is currently still theoretical in nature, the study emphasizes the need for future empirical research to better understand the behavior and motivations of the target group.
• Use of natural resources: The targeted utilization of local features such as forests, hot springs, or coastal landscapes forms the fundamental basis for developing competitive offerings.
• Holistic health promotion: Unlike pure sports tourism, the focus here is not on performance or competition, but on a balanced combination of activity, relaxation, and sustainable lifestyle changes.