As Swarbrooke (1999:9) points out, the term sustainable tourism had been used since the end of the 1980s, even if ‘the terms ‘green issues’ and ‘green tourism’ were at that time used more commonly’. ‘The term ‘green tourism’ reflected the rise of interest in environmental issues’ during that time (Swarbrooke 1999:9). Weaver (2006:10) cited Eber (1992) in this context who stated that sustainable development ‘advocates the wise use and conservation of resources in order to maintain their long-term viability’, which can be interpreted as the necessity of maintaining the natural beauty and original state of a destination, in order to be able to offer tourism in these destinations in the long term. Weaver (2006:10) explains, that ‘sustainable tourism may be regarded…as the application of the sustainable development idea to the tourism sector’ and furthers ‘involves the minimization of negative impacts and the maximization of positive impacts’. The WTO gives the following definition: Sustainable tourism development meets the needs of present tourists and host regions while protecting and enhancing opportunities for the future. It is envisaged as leading to management of all resources in such a way that economic, social, and aesthetic needs can be fulfilled while maintaining cultural integrity, essential ecological process, biological diversity, and life support systems (1998:21).

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These definitions of sustainable tourism show three dimensions of which sustainable tourism is composed. Mowforth and Munt (2003) identify them as: the environmental dimension, the economic dimension and the social/cultural dimension. According to Swarbrooke (1999:49-50), the environmental dimension is composed of the natural environment, wildlife, the farmed environment, the built environment and natural resources. ‘In many cases, the core attraction of a destination’s product may be natural resources, such as: clean, pure mountain air, land, the mineral waters which have healing properties and are the focus of spa development’ and ‘the water in lakes and seas, if it is relatively warm and clean, and therefore suitable for bathing’. The most important concept regarding the economic dimension of sustainable tourism is probably the multiplier effect, which says that ‘every pound…spent by the tourist circulates around the local economy in a series of waves’. ‘In terms of sustainable tourism, the aims are to maximize tourist spending and then to minimize the leakages of tourism income from the local community’ (Swarbrooke 1999:60). Mowforth and Munt (2003:103) add that ‘regardless of how much damage may be done culturally, socially and environmentally, it is perfectly acceptable if the economic profitability of the scheme is great enough to cover over the damage…’.

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In terms of the social dimension of sustainable tourism, Swarbrooke lists factors that have an influence on the quality of sociocultural impacts in a certain location: the strength and coherence of the local society and culture, the nature of tourism in the resort, the level of economic and social development of the host population in relation to the tourists, the measures, if any, taken by the public sector in the destination to manage tourism in ways which minimize the socio-cultural costs of tourism (1999:71). Jules (2005:6) states that the three dimensions of sustainable tourism that have just been defined must be integrated in every tourism development strategy: ‘any sustainable development strategy must incorporate the essential dimensions of fairness and equity, progressive human development and environmental sustainability.’ Before the evaluation of the wellness tourism niche with respect to these dimensions, the main characteristics of the niche will be illustrated in the following.

According to the World Tourism Organisation (WTO) (1999), wellness and spa tourism can be regarded a major trend, especially in Asia and the Pacific. The WTO (1999:24) states that ‘more tourists are concerned about maintaining and improving their health and, as a result, the development of health resorts and spas is also expanding in

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the world.’ The Sanctuary Resorts highlight an estimation of the Travel Association of America that ‘a…market of 43 million - in the USA alone - is…willing…to pay a premium price to stay in environmentally sensitive, less structured resorts’ (Sanctuary Resorts 2005). The Asian destinations with their long tradition of natural health and beauty treatments seem to be the perfect place for the development of holistic wellness tourism. The WTO (1999:24) further states in this context that ‘there is a renewed interest in traditional medical treatments’ which ‘can form the basis for health resorts and special interest tourism.’

The wellness industry has made many attempts to make their business more sustainable, especially in the hospitality sector. This striving for sustainability is well reflected in the sustainability statement of the International SPA Association (2007): ‘To grow our industry toward a deeper connection with the natural laws of nature, we embrace the three pillars of sustainability: planet, people and prosperity.’ This can be regarded as a holistic approach of the wellness industry to playing an active role in sustaining the environment, since it is an integral element of the wellness philosophy. Jim Root, the Chairman of the International SPA Association, is cited accordingly on the webpage of Travel to Wellness Inc. (2007): ‘Environmental consciousness has always been there for the spa

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