The word »wellness« is usually used to indicate a healthy balance of the mind, the body and the spirit that results in an overall feeling of the well-being. The wellness centers have become an inseparable part of the hotel facilities, at the instance of the users who come to these centers because of different motives. The purpose of this research is to examine the characteristics of a healthy-living market segment and its motivational behavior to wellness facilities in Slovenia. Hence, the objectives of this research are as follows: to identify the motivational characteristics of the tourists visiting the wellness centers and to study the relationship between the tourists' healthy-living behavioral patterns and the motivational behavior in relation to the wellness facilities in Slovenia.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to provide a suggestion for the research framework on tourists as target groups for planning city branding strategies with reference to possible differences for tourists having a different country of origin. This framework was applied to analyze and compare the perception of Banja Luka city brand (Bosnia and Herzegovina) by four main target group by country of origin. Design/methodology/approach The suggested research framework combines qualitative generation of tourist’s city brand associations and brand personality with quantitative measurements of city brand perception (scale developed following the framework of Anholts’ (2006) City Brand Index adjusted to tourists as target groups). Findings The developed research framework was demonstrated in the example of Banja Luka main target groups. Three dimensions of city brand which largely coincide Anholt’s (2006) dimensions were extracted: tourist attractiveness, life standard and safe and pleasant atmosphere. Differences between analyzed countries were found in city brand perception, brand associations, brand personality, but also in all other analyzed categories. Research limitations/implications Possible limitation of the study is the fact that results were interpreted including both those who have visited Banja Luka and those who are not personally familiar with it. Practical implications Practical implications of research findings are demonstrated in form of branding suggestions focused on particular target groups. Originality/value The study suggests a research framework on tourists as target groups in the city branding process. Also, it contributes to a very scarce research on differences in city brand perception by target groups by country of origin, but also to the literature related to Banja Luka city brand and tourism development.

Wellness and spa tourism has increasingly become an important economic and marketing strategy for hoteliers, resorts and tourist destinations to attract tourist visitations. Deep understanding of consumer profiles and their key motivations within this context is vital in order to sustain the growth of wellness and spa tourism business. This paper presents an exploratory study that seeks to understand the spa and wellness tourists' motivation during their visits to spa and wellness service centers in Slovenia. The purpose of this research is to examine the characteristics of a healthy-living market segment and its motivational behavior to wellness facilities in Slovenia. The paper provides the broad understanding of wellness and spa tourists' profiles in Slovenia and the key motivation factors.

Abstract

Over the last decades "wellness spa" industry has experienced a boom around the world. The word "Wellness" has been formed by merging two words: "Well Being" + "fitness", and appeared in the thirties of the last century in the United States. The primary objective of this movement is an ancient philosophy, according to which there ´s no fulfilled life without the assent of the physical and mental, also physical and spiritual. Hotel guests, today more than ever, want higher quality offer for their money. This means that wellness is today a very important criterion by which customers select hotels. For this reason it is necessary to pay great attention to the planning, design and construction of this part of the hotel facility. The subject of this paper is wellness and spa centers as part of the hotel facility. The task is to investigate and analyze elements of this space, to determine spatial areas of wellness center, as well as their relationships and spatial organization, in order to reach the goal -getting useful guidelines for planning quality wellness center. To all of this could be achieved, we must first go back to distant history where dating back the beginnings of wellness.Alternative approaches to wellness are often denoted using two different terms: "health and wellness" and "wellness programs". Wellness programs offer alternative medical techniques to improve health. Whether these techniques actually improve physical health is controversial and the subject of much debate. James Randi and James Randi Foundation are the honest critics of this alternative concept of a new era of health. Wellness often includes many health related disciplines, such as therapy with natural products.Wellness, as part of the luxury needs, can readily be found in affluent societies because it involves dealing with the body, after the basic needs for food, shelter and medical care base are already accomplished. Many of the activities applied in wellness, in fact, aimed at controlling the side effects of enrichment, such as obesity and inactivity. Wellness roots can be found in 19th century, when the middle class in the industrialized world found time and resources for different forms of self-improvement.Wellness, as defined by the Foundation of Wellness, considers prevention without drugs, which can not be eliminated health problems, but they can be prevented. Wellness focuses on minimizing the effects of the three dimensions of stress: physical stress (which causes irritation to the nervous system), chemical stress (which causes toxicity of the body) and mental stress (which can trigger hormonal changes, mainly in the adrenal glands).It may be noted that the definition of wellness vary depending on who promote it. These wellness promoters try to ensure a healthier population and a higher quality of life. It is the pursuit of a healthy, balanced lifestyle. Wellness as an alternative concept generally means more than the absence of disease -an optimal state of health. Supporters of the program believe that many factors contribute...