INFLUENCE OF WELLNESS IN SELECTING TOURISM DESTINATION.

Wellness as a lifestyle refers to special state of health incorporating the harmony of body, mind and spirit. This kind of life style is also dominant during vacation. The main aim of this paper was to determine the differences among three groups of tourists: high-level wellness consumers, moderate level wellness and low level wellness consumers with respect to selecting tourism destination and their personal characteristics. Data was collected from July, through September 2009 as a part of a research on tourists' behavior on a sample of tourists staying in five seaside tourist resorts in the Istria County. Differences were tested using chi square test and one way ANOVA. Significant differences between three groups were found from the aspect of sample characteristics, traveling with a party, usage of information sources, travel motives, length of stay, overnight stay in other places, visiting other tourism destinations, priorities in life, influence of economic crisis on perception of vacation and appropriateness of prices in restaurants. These results suggest that there are differences among the three groups of tourists Wellness as a lifestyle refers to special state of health incorporating the harmony of body, mind and spirit. This kind of life style is also dominant during vacation. The main aim of this paper was to determine the differences among three groups of tourists: high-level wellness consumers, moderate level wellness and low level wellness consumers with respect to selecting tourism destination and their personal characteristics. Data was collected from July, through September 2009 as a part of a research on tourists' behavior on a sample of tourists staying in five seaside tourist resorts in the Istria County. Differences were tested using chi square test and one way ANOVA. Significant differences between three groups were found from the aspect of sample characteristics, traveling with a party, usage of information sources, travel motives, length of stay, overnight stay in other places, visiting other tourism destinations, priorities in life, influence of economic crisis on perception of vacation and appropriateness of prices in restaurants. These results suggest that there are differences among the three groups of tourists 1918 based on their preferences towards wellness that can be used in further development of wellness tourism in Istria County. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]