The market of health resort tourism is very wide and is related to recreational resources. Everyone needs recreation. Even fans of sports or adventure tourism at least once every few years need to have a health-improving vacation or accompany their relatives, friends or friends to such a vacation.
In world practice, the concept of resort includes the concept of both recreation and sanatorium, i.e. sanatorium and spa service is also part of resort and health tourism.
A resort area is a territory with good ecology and favorable climatic conditions, located in a picturesque area, with the presence of therapeutic natural factors: a special healing climate, mineral springs and mud, most often with a reservoir and sometimes a source of table mineral water.
The main difference between the domestic health resort system and the foreign one is that it is based on a fundamental scientific basis. Whereas foreign resorts sanatorium type resorts suggest a more “free” approach to the organization of resort health improvement (exceptions do occur, such as treatment and recreation at the Dead Sea in Israel and some others). The advantage of foreign resorts is a high level of service standards, modern infrastructure and facilities, as well as qualified service management.
Programs of health resort tours are diverse, but there are general specific requirements for the organization of such tours. When preparing a tourist product, it is necessary to remember that it is done for people who want to relax and improve their health. Therefore, it is necessary to plan and create a marketing mix of the tourist product, which will most successfully meet the needs and demands of customers during the health vacation. (Marketing mix is a combination of all qualities of a product (service) that attracts the customer (price, packaging (convenience), quality, identification, color (level), size (duration)).
Programs of health tours are built taking into account that approximately half of the time should be devoted to medical and recovery procedures.
The excursion program should not be too intense. When organizing leisure programs it is necessary to give preference to healthier activities such as contests, dance evenings, quizzes, etc., as well as hobby classes that allow to diversify leisure time. Allowed sports programs in the form of easy walks, hikes in the neighborhood, simple sports competitions, aerobics, shaping, swimming, etc. It is recommended to create resort and tourist complexes in resort areas that attract family vacations, allowing healthy family members to engage in sports and tourism, and those in need of treatment to be treated and rest.
Resort programs, depending on the location of the tour, may include special marine recovery procedures, recreation in solariums, aeraria, mud and water treatment, taking mineral waters, etc.