Entrepreneurial Behavior in the Health Tourism Market

Abstract

The health tourism market includes economic sectors with different objects of activity that aim to obtain profit by increasing the number of visitors, turning them into customers, using modern marketing tools, and being one step ahead of the competition. Thus, we encounter sedentary, adaptable, or in-trend behaviors of entrepreneurs who contribute directly or indirectly through their actions to the development of medical, wellness, and SPA tourism. This study is a descriptive analysis of entrepreneurial behaviors, to present the bond between digitalization, researcher activity, sustainability, and the future of the health tourism market. The health tourism market divides players into several segments: those who provide medical services, wellness services, and SPA services, who organize the connection between the customer and the consumption of the tourist product, those who provide related services (accommodation, transport, tourist assistance, health insurance, leisure services). Their presence must be constant, interested in their power and positioning in the chain of producer and consumer. Tourism is one of the markets with fabulous growth in the last decade, with an impact on modern civilization after the pandemic. The post-pandemic period has generated a new entrepreneurial vision of the tourism product, on the presentation, promotion strategy, and sales policy to the customer, as well as the possibility of transforming the customer into a consumer. The use of modern marketing tools such as artificial intelligence, and virtual reality have created opportunities to bring to the market new tourist destinations, new medical services, and new distribution channels of tourist product, all as a result of marketing research that provides results on the needs and expectations of the final consumer, as well as how important it is to adapt organizations to these needs. The company's answer to consumer demand depends on external factors: war, pandemics, natural disasters, and legislative changes. These uncontrollable factors determine a new adaptation of companies to the needs that arise among the consumers, which will cost them positioning on the market. Human resources, as an internal factor, are the key to the relationship between the consumer and the producer of the tourist service. The market trends push companies to use digital marketing strategy, direct marketing, and state-of-the-art technologies, hoping to reduce the waiting time for the customer and create the tourist product at an optimal price. New trends determine a blend of creation and imagination with technological and economical possibilities, for new tourist services and products. Such is how new market niches have developed new market niches, such as elderly tourism, thermal tourism, water tourism or wave tourism, tourism for people with disabilities, and nutritional tourism. Unlike leisure tourists, they want to meet their specific needs during the holiday. Also, entrepreneurs, depending on their quality in the tourist process, customize their tourist products or services according to customer behaviour. Adapting entrepreneurial behaviour to new trends is necessary to cope with the environment. The reported problems, as well as global warming, water pollution, melting glaciers, increasing the immunity of the human body to antibiotics, and decreasing international safety, determine the adaptation of organizational behaviour towards sustainability, digitization, and empathy, as well as the personalization of the tourism product or service. DOI: https://doi.org/10.53486/dri2023.18; UDC: 334.72:[338.48:614]; JEL: I11, I12, I18, L83