Wellness as a cure for the problems of Czech spas?

Abstract

The paper is focused on spas in the Czech Republic. Czech spas are unique in its extraordinary size, healing natural resources and treatment procedures, but also in the history and architecture of spa complexes in combination with spa landscape, gastronomic specialties and rich social life. In recent years, however, the spas have faced significant problems as insufficient funding, lack of qualified staff or fewer clients. The spas began to offer wellness services to improve their results. The aim of the paper is to present the current situation and to find out whether a greater focus on wellness can become a cure for the spas. The content analysis of the websites and the analysis of review sites related to the issue were used, but also the analysis of the annual reports of individual spa entities. The conclusion says that wellness activities can be used to solve the problem of the spa, but only that isn't enough. It is certainly necessary to increase the attractiveness of the spa offer, but also to invest in balneology research, support the education, maintain stable financial support from the state and make the most of marketing activities in order to preserve the medical function of the spas.