Wellness Tourism: Using Tourists’ Preferences to Evaluate the Wellness Tourism Market in Jamaica

This study sought to evaluate the general wellness preferences of tourists in Jamaica as there is little information to support the body of knowledge on these tourists' wellness preferences in Jamaica and to successfully facilitate segmentation in the wellness tourism market. Jamaica has a naturally appealing environment however; performance in wellness tourism is not among its competitive strengths. Tourists have aligned themselves with the existing tourism offering. A framework is therefore needed to align the push factors of tourists’ wellness expectations with the pull factors of tourism’s offerings. The research examined the tourists' socio - demographic profile, their travel characteristics and the importance of wellness to them. Additionally, it investigated preferred amenities and services, the natural resources associated with particular accommodations, the type of accommodations preferred for a wellness vacation and the locations' attractive attributes. Pre tested survey instruments were randomly administered to two hundred tourists awaiting departure from the island's two international airports. SPSS (version 22) was used to test frequency distributions and percentages, statistical significance and internal consistency. The finding shows that wellness was important however, young people, retirees and higher income earners were not well represented. Strong preferences exist for natural remedies, wellness competencies and mind therapies. Low preferences exist for culinary tours, mineral baths, community involvement and nature experiences. Despite the location's reported physical attractiveness, hotels were preferred for a wellness vacation and many natural and historic features were unexplored. The findings imply that the unique wellness preferences may facilitate ‘new forms’ of tourism and non seasonal tourism niches for small businesses, hotels and rural communities. There may be an alignment with the vocational training system, tourism marketing efforts and international standards. Infrastructural development may also be facilitated around naturally occurring springs, heritage sites, historical buildings and unexplored natural highlights. This emphasis will subsequently support workplace wellness and primary health care.