Indulgence or therapy? Exploring the characteristics, motivations and experiences of hot springs bathers in Victoria, Australia

ABSTRACT

Hot springs are a $50 billion global industry and a growing segment of the wellness tourism sector, yet no previous research has focused on the views of hot spring users and the drivers for hot spring visitation in Australia are unclear. We performed a cross-sectional observational study through an online Qualtrics survey to assess the characteristics, motivations and experiences of visitors to Australia’s largest commercial hot spring. Primary analysis of data from 4265 mostly female respondents involved descriptive statistics, which aimed to describe trends around respondents’ characteristics, motivations and experiences. The data on respondents’ medical conditions was further analysed to determine the perceived benefit/harm for each condition. Analysis revealed that “relaxation,” “peace and tranquility,” “indulgence” and “escape” were the most important motivators for bathing. Most respondents reported general health benefits (98%) and better sleep (82%) from bathing, one third experienced fainting/dizziness. One third of respondents also had medical conditions. Significant benefits were reported for back pain, arthritis, stress/anxiety, depression and insomnia. These results suggest that while relaxation is currently the major driver of hot spring visitation, balneotherapy warrants consideration from Australian health practitioners and insurers as a complementary therapy.

KEYWORDS:

• Health and wellness tourism
• spa
• hot springs
• balneotherapy
• geothermal water
• bathing

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Correction

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank Charles Davidson and Brook Ramage from PHS for assistance with the survey design and promotion.

Disclosure statement

James Clark-Kennedy has previously been a contractor for Peninsula Hot Springs.

Marc Cohen provides informal, unpaid advice to the owners of Peninsula Hot Springs and is a shareholder and Director of Maruia Hot Springs in New Zealand of which Peninsula Hot Springs is the majority owner.

Correction Statement

This article was originally published with errors, which have now been corrected in the online version. Please see Correction (https://doi.org/10.1080/10941665.2024.2364950).