Alba Font Barnet

Protected areas (PAs) offer a wide range of well-being benefits closely linked to the objective of providing genuine experiences that intend to involve tourists across the physical, mental, social, emotional, spiritual, and environmental spheres. This article is part of a research project that aims to transfer knowledge about the well-being benefits provided by PAs through the design of well-being experiences, all within the framework of a methodological participatory process and co-design approach that integrates visual methods in data collection and analysis, together with the involvement of public and private agents. Methodology is apllied in two protected natural areas (PNAs): the Ebro Delta Natural Park (EDNP) and the Els Ports Natural Park (EPNP), both located in South Catalonia. The resulting experiences can be included in the tourist offer provided by parks and tourist sector; above all, they will drive efforts to include, reinforce, communicate, and share the health benefits of PNAs.

Tourism offering well-being practices in nature has increased exponentially in recent years. The scientific interest in this subject has also grown at a similar rate, from both a theoretical and a methodological perspective. We present a bibliometric analysis using the search terms “tourism”, “well-being”, and “nature” disclosed in the Web of Science and Scopus databases. Combining quantitative and visual methods, we analyse 443 records on this topic according to seven items: productivity evolution, overlapping, geographical distribution, research areas, most important keywords, main sources, and most cited articles. The results show a growing interest in this topic as well as a need to review the literature in the two databases, conducting a search from a multidisciplinary approach.

Tourism is a dynamic, constantly evolving activity that requires detecting consumer trends so that companies and destinations can adapt by offering new and improved competitive products and experiences. For the post-COVID-19 era, dominant projected trends suggest that consumers will be more attracted to authentic, environmentally responsible experiences in less touristy destinations and wide-open spaces. Natural areas and protected spaces rank among the clearest beneficiaries of such trends because they combine relaxation with environments conducive to social distancing as well as offering direct, positive impacts on human health and well-being. For all of those reasons, such spaces not only have the potential to offer new experiences closely related to well-being and the search for overall health but also face challenges to that end. Against that background, this chapter examines experiential tourism in relation to improved holistic well-being and provides examples of experiences in protected natural areas worldwide that offer physical, mental, social, environmental, spiritual, and/or emotional well-being.

Following a long history of using various strategies and policies for diversification and seasonal adjustment in the face of the challenges of achieving economic, social, and environmental sustainability, sun and beach destinations should also consider targeting the wellness tourism market as a post pandemic opportunity and long-term solution. Salou is a mature sun and beach destination in the Mediterranean, but one which, for some time, has had an increasing commitment to family and sports tourism as a result of a strategic renewal process. Now, with the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, the destination management organization is considering the evolution of the model, the internalization of sustainability as a fundamental value, and the impact of different markets. In this study, we examined the challenges the Salou Tourist Board has faced during the development of a post pandemic model for sustainable tourism and what strategies it has adopted in response. We also considered the opportunities and competitive advantages that Salou has in the field of wellness tourism. The results obtained should encourage the continuation of work that promotes the environmental axis of sustainability and adds value to the natural resources on which it depends, including the sea and the landscape, while maintaining the environmental quality of the resources.