Assessing the Changes of Health Spa Demand in Hungary Between 2012 and 2019

OBJECTIVES: In general, the demand for medical tourism is influenced by several factors. The first is an aging population with a growing health problem and discretionary income and leisure. The second is changes in health behaviours that focus on disease prevention. Research seeks the answer to the changes in the demand for medical tourism in recent years in health spas.

METHODS: We conducted secondary research, based on official data of the Hungarian Central Statistical Office. We examined the types of baths, the passenger traffic of the baths, the services used with National Health Insurance Fund Administration (NHIFA) support, the turnover of the baths Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, data for the year 2020 were not taken into account, so we are examining the period between 2012 and 2019 for health spas in Hungary.

RESULTS: During the period under review, between 2012 and 2019 the demand of spas showed an increase of 15 %, which was 6.6 million people. The number of visitors to the spas increased by an average of 945,000 per year, which means an average increase of 2.5 %. 92.6 % of spa visitors used the services without NHIFA reimbursement in 2012, which increased to 94.7 % by 2019, an annual average increase of 0.3 %. In connection with the turnover of the baths, there is no data for years 2012 and 2013, in the period between 2014-2019, it increased by 56.31 million HUF, an average increase of 11.26 million HUF per year.

CONCLUSIONS: The continuous development of health spas resulted in the growth of spa favourites in Hungary. The increase in the number of spa favourites would mean to increase the scope of the NHIFA supported treatments and the degree of subsidies, which consists of the aspirations and suggestions of the Hungarian Baths Association.