Holisticscape dimensions of the tourism experience in wellness spas: Evidence from Portugal

The present study examines how tourists’ experiences in wellness spas promote holistic health through the Holisticscape framework from both tourists’ and other stakeholders’ perspectives, an extension of the servicescape that encompasses the ambience, social, activity, body, mind, and spirit dimensions. An exploratory, multi-stakeholder qualitative design was employed, with 20 in-depth interviews conducted in wellness spas in Portugal. Thematic analysis revealed that ambience, social relations, activity, body, mind, and spiritual stimuli support tourists’ holistic health. These findings extend existing research on servicescape and experiencescape by demonstrating how multidimensional experiential stimuli interact to produce holistic health in wellness spa settings. The study offers practical implications for designing immersive and health-oriented environments, enhancing service customisation, and integrating cultural and natural resources into wellness spa offerings. Given its exploratory and context-bound nature, it is recommended that further research be conducted to validate Holisticscape dimensions across a range of wellness spas at distinct destinations. Furthermore, the development of measurement tools for future quantitative investigations is recommended.