Identification of the Factors Associated with Increased Length of Stay of Wellness Tourists in Sarein, Iran

Today, tourism is of great importance to countries, and health tourism is one of the new and developing types of tourism in the world. Due to the importance of wellness tourism, this study aimed to identify the main factors associated with the length of stay of wellness tourists in Sarein, Iran.

The present study was applied in terms of purpose and exploratory in nature, and qualitative in terms of approach. In this study, data from interviews with 19 people including tourism experts and wellness tourists of Sarein were analyzed using the content analysis method.

In data analysis, 56 basic codes were extracted from all interviews, and finally these concepts subsequently, were categorized into eight groups of personal and demographic, psychological, cost, psychological, hygienic and health, diversity of tourism services, tourism acceptance capacity, quality of service, and infrastructure capabilities and facilities of the destination.

Based on the results of the study, organizations related to Sarein tourism should consider the factors identified in this study in order to increase the length of stay of wellness tourists.