Revitalizing spas for wellness: A new challenge for Macedonian tourism

Spas have been gaining increased attention recently and represent an important segment of tourist offer. Compared to other tourism trends, wellness tourism grows rapidly since its primary motivation is wellbeing and self-care. Although N. Macedonia belongs to the group of destinations that have a significant number of spas with quality thermal and mineral waters, this tourist potential is still very little used. In 2023, spa resorts accounted for only 2,6 % of tourist visits. The content offered in these places is mostly based on health-treatment packages used by a small segment of visitors. Why it is so and what should be done to overcome this situation to make spas recognizable tourist resorts are the questions for which the research in this paper should answer. The main objective is to present the position and importance of spas for increased tourism development in N. Macedonia with enriched offer.