IMPROVING THE MANAGEMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESOURCES BY INCREASING OCCUPANCY RATE OF SPAS’ CAPACITY: A CASE STUDY OF SERBIA

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IMPROVING
THE MANAGEMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESOURCES
BY INCREASING OCCUPANCY RATE OF SPAS’ CAPACITY:
A CASE STUDY OF SERBIA
Katarina Živković, Msc1
Jasmina Omerbegović-Bijelović, Full Profesor, PhD2
Danica Lečić-Cvetković, Full Profesor, PhD3
Zoran Rakićević, Teaching Assistant4
DOI: https://doi.org/10.31410/tmt.2018.621
Abstract: The research presented in this paper indicates one of the options for improving the man-
agement of environmental resources by increasing the occupancy rate of capacities in the spas of the
Republic of Serbia (RS). It is motivated by the current needs of the tourism industry for ideas that can
increase the level of potential utilization of spas in the Republic of Serbia. The aim of the paper is to
use research to test a basic hypothesis, that attracting families with small children can increase the
occupancy rate of the spas’ capacity in the Republic of Serbia. The paper presents table research and
eld research. Table research was based on ocial data from the documents of the Republic of Serbia.
The eld research, presented in the paper, has been carried out on a sample of 122 respondents (par-
ents with small children), that respond in the questionnaire with 20 research questions about the survey
topic. The research results conrm that the creation of better conditions for the stay and pleasure of
families with small children in the Serbian spas, and their encouragement and motivation, may greatly
inuence the increase of occupancy rate of the spas’ capacity in the Republic of Serbia. This result
showed to the authorities and management bodies of the tourism industry and spas in the Republic of
Serbia that there is sense to take actions for a massive motivation of families with young children to
use the spa throughout the year. The truthfulness of main hypothesis H(0) is conrmed. Furthermore, it
has also been shown that, by the creative approach, it is possible to generate and check other ideas for
increasing the occupancy rate of spas’ capacity.
Keywords: tourism; environmental resources; spas; management; increasing the occupancy rate of
spas’ capacity; the Republic of Serbia.
1. INTRODUCTION
Tourism has been actively pursued as an economic development strategy by many coun-
tries and regions around the world [1]. When dening spa tourism, we should start rst
from the needs and wishes of the spa service consumers, preferences and the type of
services that they expect to get. Spa tourism oers the services of healthcare, recovery of men-
tal and physical abilities, as well as additional activities and treatments. In addition to medical
services, which are the basics of spa business, namely the very reason for their existence, spas
oer a handful of other options for the tourists who take care of their health preventatively and
who look for peace, tranquility and relaxation.
1
2
3
4
Faculty of Organisational Sciences, University of Belgrade, 154 Jove Ilica Street, Belgrade, Serbia
Faculty of Organisational Sciences, University of Belgrade, 154 Jove Ilica Street, Belgrade, Serbia
Faculty of Organisational Sciences, University of Belgrade, 154 Jove Ilica Street, Belgrade, Serbia
Faculty of Organisational Sciences, University of Belgrade, 154 Jove Ilica Street, Belgrade, Serbia

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The Republic of Serbia (RS) spas have great potential that is insuciently or inadequately uti-
lized and represents a missed opportunity of RS in relation to the countries of the former Yu-
goslavia and the Balkans. The topic of this paper is driven by the existence of a severe problem
– low occupancy rate of spas’ capacities in RS. The basic idea is to carry out research to indicate
that the performance and increase of the occupancy rate of spas’ capacity in RS depend on the
service quality, and thus on creating and adapting programs and infrastructure to the needs of
families with small children.
The main driving force of all activities must be the improvement of the eciency and quality of
services, which is achieved by: a) upgrading the knowledge and skills of all employees – who
will consequently provide the required services in the most ecient way; b) the construction of
facilities or their reconstruction; c) enrichment and upgrading of tourist oer, i.e. amplifying
tourist facilities; d) encouraging operations in all seasons; e) adequate advertising in domestic
and international markets, etc.
The rst chapter of this paper presents the topic, idea, and intention of this paper - to examine
and investigate the occupancy rate of spas’ capacity in RS and the possibility to increase this
rate by attracting families with small children, as one of the options to respond to the existing
problem. The second chapter is devoted to the literature review in this eld. The third chapter
depicts the specic situation of the RS spa tourism, along with the occupancy rate of spas’ ca-
pacity. We give an insight into the state of spas in RS in the last ten years and the opportunities
for its development. The fourth chapter presents the research on the possibility of increasing the
occupancy rate of spas’ capacity in RS conducted in 2017. The fth chapter presents the results
of the research, tested hypotheses and discussion. The sixth chapter makes a conclusion of the
paper as well as the proposals for possible directions for further research.
2. LITERATURE REVIEW
The development of wellness tourism nowadays is one of the major forces of great economic
growth in most countries across the globe. In the 1980’s global ranking lists, Yugoslavia was
ranked 8th according to the foreign tourist visits and overnights [2] - [4]. According to the eco-
nomics studies [5], the post-communist tourism economy, for a decade or more this branch of
the economy was branded with inadequate infrastructure, poor image, poor management, poor
accommodation, lack of built-up growing attraction and entertainment facilities, low service
standard, etc. The challenges and the opportunities of tourism destinations in South Eastern
Europe have been relatively neglected by researchers. Six South Eastern European countries,
Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Macedonia and Serbia, former mem-
bers of the Socialist Republic of Yugoslavia, have emphasized a role of tourism in their devel-
opment. The war in the Balkans and political instability are the reasons for the slow recovery of
these countries in this eld, and returning to large pre-war tourist numbers has not yet achieved.
Among the countries of the former Yugoslavia, Slovenia is one of the most developed in the spa
tourism, an especially modern form of wellness tourism [6]. In the period 1990 – 2005 tourism
in Slovenia increased by 85% in the number of tourists and by 92% in the number of overnight
stays [3]. In the Republic of Croatia is present continuous mild growth of realized tourist over-
nights in spas until 2009, when a decline in overnights was recorded because of the impact of
the economic crisis [7]. Bosna and Hercegovina, also indicate mild growth of realized tourist
overnights. In Montenegro, according to the research in [8], the accommodation capacities in
period 2008-2013 have a low trend of growth, and the number of tourist arrivals has steadily

IMPROVING THE MANAGEMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESOURCES
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623
increased. According to [9], the usage of the capacity of accommodation in spa centers is Mac-
edonia is small at about 23%, and the accommodation capacity grows by only 2% in that period
[10]. The current accommodation in most spas should be classied at the level of quality from
one or two stars. In RS the situation is much worse, after having reached its time of prosperity
during the ‚50s, 60s and 70s, spa tourism, for the last 25 years have been suering from aban-
donment and degradation, especially the infrastructure, thermal installations, etc.
In neighbouring countries of Serbia (Bulgaria, Romania and Hungary) the situation regarding
spa tourism is much better. In the past twelve years, Bulgaria succeeded in archiving good
results in spa and wellness tourism, reached a stage of a great increase, despite the negative
impact of the world nancial and economic crisis [11]. As it was estimated in 2008 [12], France,
Bulgaria and Romania jointly provided some 60% of the supply in the spa and wellness sub-
sector of the tourist industry in Europe. In Romania spa tourism the decrease in the number of
arrivals and overnight in the period 1989-2005 lowered the occupancy rate from 73.2% in 1989
to 49.5% in 2005 aecting to a lower extend the hotel units, for which the occupancy rate de-
creased from 84.9% to 64.9% [13]. At the national level, in Hungary in 2011 the rate of decline
in overnights was lower at the national level than at regional, and the average length of stay was
shortened [14].
Bearing in mind, that according to [15], sustainable economic and social development, consti-
tutes one of the most signicant challenges for the modern world, and the relationship of tour-
ism with the three pillars of sustainable development, i.e., economic, environmental, and social,
is very important [16], the development of sustainable spa tourism in Serbia can be the rst
sustainable challenge. Podawca & Pawłat-Zawrzykraj (2018) stated that many countries take
advantage of their natural resources, cultural values and tourist virtues to various extents [17].
In recent decades, many researchers have been investigated dierent aspects of health tourism.
Health tourism can be considered from two dierent points of view, medical and wellness [18].
The spa is subsector of health tourism, positioned in between medical and wellness, depending
on the purposes and types of treatments [19]. Spa participation is currently showing incredible
growth, as more consumers turn to spa facilities as venues to improve their health and well-being
[20]. Consequently, demands of tourists are becoming more diverse: they look for new experi-
ence, quality vacations with the aim of relaxing and recovering their body and mind. Therefore,
identifying the most important attributes to tourists generates an instrument for developing strat-
egies for the improvement of the competitiveness of that tourist destination [21], [22].
The infrastructure of a touristic oer is one of the main barriers to the well-being of tourism
products [23]. Towner (1996) proposed that the basic supply components applicable to spas are:
good quality accommodation, food and beverage, entertainment, recreational opportunities,
health amenities and services, tourist attractions, infrastructure, and the spa waters themselves
[24]. On the other side, tness, outdoor sports activities, health and physical well-being are also
important reasons for visiting the spa. Besides the improvement of wellness oer, the accom-
modations and additional facilities, such as guest catering, children’s playgrounds, trim lines,
need to be added [25].
Families and children are the essential emotional elements in human life. Most families use
travelling as an opportunity to strengthen social and emotional connections with each other.
Travelling families are very important to tourist operators, and are estimated to generate over
a third of the overall tourist revenue [26]. The future of family tourism lies in capturing the

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diverse children’s and adults needs of dierent ages, from diverse ethnic backgrounds and with
various family structures [27], [28]. That is the reason why family tourism is one of the largest
and most constant markets in the tourist industry and yet tourism research has rarely taken any
notice of spa families holidays [29], [30].
There is a distinct lack of the published research on spa and family tourism issues in the RS.
This paper is one of the attempts to point out the possibility of improving this type of tourism
in the RS, to highlight the problems and possible ways of their solving.
3. CASE STUDY: SPAS IN THE REPUBLIC OF SERBIA
The Republic of Serbia (RS) is located on the lakes of thermal mineral water. There are over 1,000
mineral water springs with over 40 spas built in their vicinity [31]. Spas in the RS are places sur-
rounded by natural beauty (mountains, rivers, lakes, caves) and cultural-historical heritage (church-
es, monasteries, museums, monuments, caves, etc.). They are suitable and adapted for tourism in all
seasons. Consumers of the RS spas are mostly females, although an increasing trend of interest in
males for visiting and using spa services has been recorded in recent years. Consumers are between
35 and 55 years of age, have secondary or higher education, mainly live in urban or suburban areas,
and usually visit spas without children [32], [33]. The primary motive is the use of medical services,
recovery and rehabilitation, recreation, sports training, reduction of weight, proper nutrition, edu-
cational programs, seminars, conferences, presentations and alike. This consumer prole likes to
engage in sports activities in the open air or indoors, depending on weather conditions, but they also
want to get to know and visit the cultural and historical heritage in spas vicinities [34], [35].
3.1. Occupancy rate of spas in the Republic of Serbia
The most important criteria that may aect the tourist valorization to the greatest extent are:
the level of development of tourist capacities, the degree of attractiveness of tourist motives, the
development of transport and hospitality infrastructure, training, professionalism and expertise
of personnel, the level of facilities and equipment of tourist sites and centers, geographical po-
sition, cultural and historical heritage, and alike [36], [37].
No doubt the RS possesses a quality and dierent basis for further development of spa tourism.
Its natural attractiveness creates a condition and indicates that it is possible to develop numerous
types of tourist oers and services tailored to the needs of dierent user needs and desires of
dierent age.
Accommodation facilities
Data in Table 1 shows the accommodation facilities, i.e. the number of rooms per year in spas
of the RS (row No 1). Based on this data we can see that the number of rooms facilities in spas
varies from year to year, but when looking at the initial 2006, and the last 2014 year, that number
was reduced by about 1,000 rooms. The largest capacity - the number of rooms, was recorded
in 2008, with 16,120 rooms, and the lowest in 2014, with 11,126 rooms.
When it comes to the total number of beds (Table 1, row No 2) in RS spas, in the period from
2006 to 2014, the number nearly doubled in 2008 compared to 2006. After that this number
decreases.

IMPROVING THE MANAGEMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESOURCES
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The problem of low occupancy rates is directly related to the decline in the quality of accom-
modation facilities and supporting services of spa tourism. Most of the spa’s facilities in the RS
were built before 1976, and they now require extensive reconstruction, renovation, adaptation
and, depending on the specic needs of resorts, construction of new facilities. Precisely, from
the previously presented data on the accommodation capacities, it can be concluded that, in
general, they have declined. On the one hand, such a trend, observed in the last ten years, may
be due to a small number of tourists and the lack of their interest to stay at the RS spas. On the
other hand, the decline in the number of rooms and beds is derived from the obsolescence of
facilities for tourist accommodation and inability to adapt to new, modern trend – dictated by
today’s business of tourist resorts and their hospitality units.
NoYear 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014
1Number of rooms (in [1]) 12008 15948 16120 14120 14339 14443 13686 12170 11126
2Number of beds (in [1]) 27967 41416 42243 36919 37306 37445 35543 26536 24399
3Number of tourist overnights (in [103]) 2183 2335 2368 2286 2210 2308 2035 2134 1852
4Domestic tourists (in [103)] 302 359 343 334 320 341.5 277 283.3 263.1
5Foreign tourists (in [103]) 17 25 23 24 25 33.8 31.4 40.7 47.4
6Total number of tourists (in [103]) 319 384 366 358 345 375.3 308.4 324 310.5
7Occupancy rate (in [%]) 21.39 15.45 15.36 16.96 16.23 16.89 15.69 22.03 20.80
Table 1. Accommodation facilities of spas in RS and tourist in the period 2006 - 2014
Source: Statistical Oce of the Republic of Serbia, Statistical Yearbooks, Tourism 2006 - 2014
Tourist trac
Tourist trac in the RS spas records overnight stays and tourist arrivals per year. Table 1 (row
No 3) displays the data on the number of overnight stays per year, starting from 2006 until
2014. The analysis of these data shows that the number of overnights in the reporting period
decreased. By 2008, the number of overnight stays grew when the most extensive tourist trac
was recorded, with 2,368,000 overnight stays. After this year, the number of tourist overnights
begins to decline, and this trend continues until 2014, except in 2011 and 2013, when the num-
ber of overnight stays grows rapidly, but the number is still lower then the maximum number
of overnights recorded in 2008. When it comes to domestic tourists who visited RS spas in the
observed period (Table 1, row No 4), it can be said that the number of their arrivals grew until
2007, after which there was a continuous decline, except in 2011. The dierence between the
arrivals in 2007 and 2014 comes to about 90,000.
Regarding the visits of foreign tourists (Table 1, row No 5), it is interesting that the number of
their arrivals grows from year to year, except for the period 2008-2010 when this number held
steady, after which it increased again, reaching the amount of 47,402 arrivals. The dierence,
i.e. the increase in the number of foreign tourist arrivals from 2006 to 2014 is about 30,000.
Based on the data from Table 1 (row No 6), it can be concluded that it is not possible to determine
the trend in the total number of arrivals in the reporting period because this number changes
from year to year so that it increases in one year while decreases in the following. However,
despite this irregularity in the movement of the total number of tourist visits, it can be noted
that the number of arrivals grows until 2007, after which it starts to decrease, whereby a signif-
icantly lower number of visits is recorded between 2007 and 2014, i.e. for about 74,000 arrivals.

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Capacity utilization in spas of Republic of Serbia
The occupancy rate of spas’ facilities, as shown in Table 1 (row No 7), points to the fact that the
capacities of RS spas in the period 2006-2014, are underutilized (15.36 to 21.39 [%]). The dier-
ence between the used and unused capacity is huge (about 80 [%]), which indicates the necessity
to undertake activities to use RS spas potentials in a better way.
Based on the analysis of the presented data, it can be concluded that the RS spas have been
recording decline over a long period according to all observed criteria. This unfavorable situ-
ation in the RS spas can be improved and enhanced to some extent by the development of spa
tourism. The development of spa tourism implies additional investment in the renovation or
construction of new facilities, enrichment of the tourist oers, year-round operating, the corre-
sponding marketing in domestic and foreign markets, lasting and well-designed advertising and
other measures.
3.2. Possibilities for the development of spa tourism in the Republic of Serbia
The problem of the low occupancy rate of capacities can be solved in several ways. One way is
to attract people with dierent needs. It refers to the people who would come to spas in greater
numbers than before to rest, perform intellectual or artistic work, and enjoy order, peace. For
spas’ resorts, this means an obligation to provide such conditions on the one hand, but also a
chance to ll unused capacity, on the other. Therefore, the target groups spas could address
include the following: parents/families with small children; sportspersons and recreationists;
intellectuals; artists; business people (for seminars and conferences); people who act preven-
tively to their health. The construction of sports grounds at the location where they would not
disturb peace and order would enable both sportspersons and other tourists to engage in sports
activities. In addition to the construction of the grounds, it is necessary to construct and reno-
vate hiking and jogging trails, bike lanes, hiking trails, organize visits to cultural and natural
heritage sites and alike.
4. RESEARCH METHODS
The research presented in this paper is based on the demonstration of the opportunities that
the spas in the Republic of Serbia have not adequately or suciently exploited and the fact that
capacity utilization of spas has been low for years. We are considering one variant of spas’ re-
sponse to the problem of attracting families with small children.
H(0)
H(1) H(2) H(3)
H(1.1) H(1.2) H(1.3) H(1.4) H(2.1) H(2.2)
Figure 1: The structure of the hypothesis tree

IMPROVING THE MANAGEMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESOURCES
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The basic research hypothesis is:
H(0): By attracting families with small children, it is possible to achieve a higher occupa-
tion rate in spas of Republic of Serbia.
The specic hypotheses of this research were dened as follows:
H(1): Creating conditions for the stay of small children in spas encourages the arrival of
their families.
H( 2): Providing benets to families with small children encourages their arrival.
H(3): Creating conditions for the activities of small children in spas - in full and oseason,
encourages the arrival of their families.
Specic hypothesis H(1) comprises four individual hypotheses, namely:
H(1.1): Creating conditions for the manifestations of cultural and entertainment activities of
small children in spas encourage the arrival of their families.
H(1.2): Creating conditions for the education of small children in spas encourages the arriv-
al of their families.
H (1.3): Creating conditions for small children recreation in spas encourages the arrival of
their families.
H (1.4): Creating conditions for small children to visit tourist attractions encourages the
arrival of their families.
Specic hypothesis H(2) comprises two individual hypotheses:
H (2.1): Providing nancial incentives for staying in spas to families with small children en-
courages their arrival.
H (2.2): Giving non-nancial benets for staying in spas to families with small children en-
courages their arrival.
The structure of the research hypotheses is shown in Figure 1.
The research was carried out during a 30-day anonymous survey in October 2017 on a sample
of 122 respondents (parents with small children). A self-administrated questionnaire was used
as a research technique. Potential users of spas services answered dierent sets of questions.
The questionnaire contained 26 closed, semi-closed and open-ended questions. The rst six
questions were related to general information about the sample (Table 2), while others (20) were
directly related to the research of the possibility to increase the occupancy rate of capacity in
RS spas. Table 2 shows the main attributes of the sample. From Table 2 it can be seen that the
prevailing groups of the sample consist of respondents aged 30-45 (71.9 [%]), with university
degree, master and doctoral level (50.9 [%]), with one or two children (M = 1.52) and with a
monthly income of between 40,000 and 100,000 RSD (60.4 [%]).

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NoCategorical variables Number Percentage
1Parent’s gender Male 36 29.5 %
Female 86 70.5 %
2Parent’s age
< 20 0 0 %
20-25 5 4.1 %
20-30 16 13.2 %
30-35 25 20.7 %
35- 40 32 26.4 %
40-45 30 24.8 %
>45 13 10.7 %
3
Parent’s
education level
Secondary school 46 37.7 %
College 14 11.5 %
University 36 29.5 %
Master degree 18 14.8 %
PhD degree 8 6.6 %
4Number of children
170 57.4 %
241 33.6 %
311 9.0 %
5Family earnings per month
Less than 40000 RSD 16 13.2 %
Between 40000 - 70000 RSD 48 39.7 %
Between 70000 - 100000 RSD 25 20.7 %
More than 100000 RSD 32 26.4 %
Scale variables Mean (M) Std. Deviation (SD)
6Average number of children 1.52 0.654
Table 2. The structure of the survey sample with frequencies of categorical variables
5. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
The questionnaire contained 26 closed, semi-closed and open-ended questions. Based on the
results of the study on the possibilities for increasing the level of occupancy rate in the RS spas,
the general attitudes of the respondents regarding the desires and intentions to visit spas in the
RS indicate that among the respondents 45.9 [%] have already been customers of spa services in
the RS. Also, 65.3 [%] of respondents said that the RS spas are attractive for families with small
children. Some of the most common reasons for not visiting spas in RS are: the age of people
who visit them (35.4 [%]), the price of services (29.2 [%]) and inadequate program for children
(21.5 [%]).
Furthermore, we have presented the research results by which we have tested the dened re-
search hypotheses. Specic hypothesis H(1) consists of four individual hypotheses, for which
the four groups of research questions (RQ) were formulated. Based on the research questions’
responses, the conclusions on the acceptance of the individual hypothesis are made. The results
of responses to questions related to a specic hypothesis H(1.1) are presented in Table 3 (row No
1 and 2). Based on the results, it can be concluded that the most common activities that attract
tourists in spas are: music festivals for children (18.9 [%]), theatrical performances (15.1 [%]),
lm festivals for children (14.9 [%]) and dress-up parties for children (13.4 [%]). The result has
been tested by the Chi-square test. The prevailing positive attitude of respondents (86.9 [%])
to using the services of spa tourism versus negative (13.1 [%]) was statistically signicant (p
<0.01). The value of the Chi-square test is χ2 (1, N = 122) = 66.39. Given that the majority of
parents with small children gave an armative answer, it can be considered that the hypothesis
H(1.1) was conrmed.

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The results of responses to questions related to individual hypothesis H(1.2) are shown in Table
3 (row No 3 and 4). Among the answers on the question of the most common activities in lan-
guage schools (23.4%) and educational workshops (20.6 [%]) were distinguished. The results
are tested with the Chi-square test. The prevailing positive attitude of respondents (91.8 [%]) on
using the services of spa tourism for the purpose of children’s education versus negative (8.2
[%]) was statistically signicant (p <0.01). The value of the Chi-square test was χ2 (1, N = 122)
= 85.28. As the majority of parents with small children gave armative answers, it can be con-
sidered that the hypothesis H(1.2) was conrmed.
The results of responses to questions related to individual hypothesis H(1.3) are shown in Table
3 (Row No 5 and 6). The most common sports and dance activities that attract the attention of
parents with small children, by this research, were: swimming, basketball, football, volleyball,
water polo, ballet, horse riding, skating, karate, and athletics. Of all the listed sports and phys-
ical activities, swimming is the most common - with a 14.8 [%] share, and together with other
water sports makes up a total of 19.3 [%]. The conclusion is that the spas that have developed
infrastructure have a greater chance of being selected as a tourist destination. Obtained answers
were tested by the Chi-square test. The prevailing attitude is positive (86.9 [%]) on using the ser-
vices of spa tourism for sport and recreation of children against negative attitude (13.1 [%]). The
value of the Chi-square test χ2 (1, n = 122) = 66.39 was statistically signicant (p <0.01). Given
that the majority of parents with small children gave an armative answer, it can be considered
that the hypothesis H(1.3) was conrmed.
Results of responses to questions related to individual hypothesis H(1.4) are shown in Table
3 (row No 7 and 8). The most common tourist attractions, according to the respondents, are:
national parks (21.3 [%]), rivers and lakes (15.1 [%]), churches and monasteries (15.1 [%]),
mountains (12.8 [%]) and nature reserves (11.4 [%]). The responses were tested by the Chi-
square test. The prevailing positive attitude of respondents (85.2 [%]) on using the services of
spa tourism to visit tourist attractions versus negative (14.8 [%]), was statistically signicant (p
<0.01). The value of the Chi-square test was χ2 (1, N = 122) = 60.62. As the majority of parents
of small children gave an armative answer, it can be considered that the hypothesis H(1.4) was
conrmed. Given the fact that the individual hypotheses H(1.1), H(1.2), H(1.3), and H (1.4) were
conrmed, the specic hypothesis H (1) was also conrmed. Therefore, if desired activities
were available, and the conditions for a tourist stay of small children in saps were created, fami-
lies with children would be encouraged to visit the RS spas. Thus a higher degree of occupation
rates of these spas will be achieved. The hypothesis H(2) relating to the circumstances of giving
benets to families with small children to encourage their visits to spas is separated into two
individual hypotheses pertaining on nancial and non-nancial benets.
Results of responses to questions related to the individual hypothesis H(2.1) are shown in Table
4 (row No 1 and 2). The largest number of respondents „chose” the following types of nancial
benets: lower costs for accommodation (22.3 [%]), payment in more instalments (13 [%]),
lower prices of optional excursions (11.1 [%]), and lower transport costs (9.3 [%]). The result has
been tested by the Chi-square test. The prevailing respondents’ attitude is positive (97.2 [%])
to using the services of spa tourism in the case of nancial benets as opposed to negative (2.8
[%]). The value of the Chi-square test χ2 (1, N = 122) = 96.33 was statistically signicant (p
<0.01). As the majority of parents of small children gave an armative answer, it can be consid-
ered that the hypothesis H(2.1) is conrmed.

3rd International Thematic Monograph:
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630
NoCategorical variables Percentage
1Cultural events for children
Music festivals 18.9%
Theatrical performances 15.1%
Film festivals 14.9%
Dress-up parties 13.4%
Festivals of children’s theatres 11.9%
Humor festivals 11.5%
Children’s exhibitions 7.4%
Performances 6.8%
2Would you be a spa consumer in order
to visit cultural events?
Yes 86.9%
No 13.1%
3Educational courses and activities
Foreign language school 23.4%
Creative workshops 20.6%
Acting schools 12.4%
Painting school 11.0%
School of music 7.9%
Culinary school 7.9%
Others 16.9%
4Would you be a spa consumer for
educational purposes?
Yes 91.8%
No 8.2 %
5
Team sports
Basketball 11. 5%
Football 9.0%
Volleyball 8.7%
Water pool 4.5%
Other 4.7%
Dance
Ballet 5.2%
National dance 3.7%
Latino dance 3.7%
Standard dancing 2.6%
Individual sports
Swimming 14.8%
Horse riding 5.2%
Ice skating 4.5%
Karate 4.3%
Athletics 4.2%
Rollers 3.0%
Chess 2.4%
Angling 2.1%
Other 4.3%
6Would you be a spa consumer due to
sports activities?
Yes 86.9 %
No 13.1 %
7Tourist attractions
National parks 21.3 %
Rivers and lakes 15.1 %
Churches and monasteries 15.1 %
Mountains 12.8 %
Nature reserves 11.4 %
Caves 8.7 %
Museums 8.0 %
Historical monuments 7.6 %
8Would you be a spa consumer due to
tourist attractions?
Yes 85.2 %
No 14.8 %
Table 3. Respondent answers on research questions, categorical variables – part I

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631
The results of answers related to this individual hypothesis H(2.2) are presented in Table 4 (row
No 3 and 4). Some of the most common responses to non-nancial benets were: the swimming
pool in the hotel (19.7 [%]), room with a view of nature (14.9 [%]), quiet part of accommodation
facilities (12.9 [%]). By applying the Chi-square test the prevailing positive attitude to visits in
the case of non-nancial benets (97 [%]) is statistically conrmed (p <0.01). The value of the
Chi-square test is χ2 (1, N = 122) = 86.38. As the majority of parents of small children gave an
armative answer, it can be considered that the hypothesis H(2.2) is conrmed.
The survey conrmed the individual hypotheses H(2.1) and H(2.2), after that it can be conclud-
ed that the specic hypothesis H(2) is also conrmed, i.e. that the nancial and non-nancial
benets greatly encourage families with small children to visit and stay at spas.
The third special hypothesis H(3) refers to the justication of creating the conditions for the
activities of small children in spas in the o-season. Answers to questions related to testing
this hypothesis are presented in Table 4 (row No 5-8) in Table 5. The armative attitude of re-
spondents on the use of services of spa tourism activities for small children in the newly built
or reconstructed facilities is 84.4 [%]. The value of the Chi-square test χ2 (1, n = 122) = 57.84,
is statistically signicant (p <0.01).
NoCategorical variables Percentage
1Types of nancial benets
Lower cost of accommodation 22.3%
Payment for spa accommodation in
monthly instalments 13.0 %
Lower price of excursions 11.1 %
Lower transport costs 9.3 %
Discount 30% for children aged 8 to 15 9.3%
Free accommodation for children up to
3 years 9.0 %
Bigger discounts for stays in o-season 8.4 %
Free accommodation for children aged
4-7 6.8 %
Discount 50% for children aged 8 to 15 5.6 %
Lower ticket prices 5.3% 5.3 %
2Would you be a spa consumer because
of nancial benets?
Yes 97.2%
No 2.8%
3Non-nancial benets
Swimming pool at the hotel 19.7 %
Room with a landscape view 14.9 %
The quiet part of accommodation 12.9 %
Separate rooms for children and parents 8.8 %
Kitchenette in the apartment 8.1 %
A room with a terrace 8.1 %
Towels changed every day 7.8%
Baby cot in the room 4.4 %
Other (air conditioning, refrigerator,
clean room, toys for kids, TV) 15.2 %
4Would you be a spa visitor due to non-
nancial benets?
Yes 97 %
No 3 %
5Would you visit spas due to the
facilities for children activities?
Yes 84.4 %
No 15.6 %

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632
6Seasons for spa visits
Spring 42.6 %
Summer 36.1 %
Fall 12%
Winter 9.3%
7
Facilitiesforsmallchildrenactivitiesperdierentseasons(rstthreepreferences)
Spring
Indoor Pool 17.1 %
Grounds for sports and recreations 14.5 %
Creative outdoor workshops 10.9 %
Summer
Outdoor pools 24.2 %
Aqua parks 21.5 %
Ordered river swimming beach 8.4 %
Fall
Indoor pools 19.1%
Grounds for sports and recreation 9.1%
Promenade 8.1 %
Winter
Indoors pools 24.5 %
Grounds for snow sports 12.4 %
Outdoor skating rink 10.4 %
8
Reasons for spa visits
in particular seasons
Weather conditions 36.2 %
Holidays 23 %
School breaks 19.1 %
Prices 13.8 %
Abilities to full desired conditions 7.9 %
Table 4. Respondents’ answers on survey questions, categorical variables – part II
Further results show that the spring (42.6 [%]) and summer (36.1 [%]) are the two most beautiful
seasons for spa tourism for families with small children. By applying the Chi-square test on the
respondents’ answers, under the assumption of equal preference to all seasons, it is conrmed
that the spring and summer seasons are prevalent for spa tourism when it comes to families with
small children (p <0.01) compared to winter and autumn. The value of the Chi-square test is χ2
(1, N=108) = 36.67. But if we add the results, i.e. preferences for the arrival of parents with small
children in o-season period and compare them with the preferences to seasonal - summer ar-
rivals, it shows that o-season dominates.
Results of this study also show that water sports facilities are most attractive for each of the four
seasons. To a question about the reasons for choosing a particular season, the most common
answers were: weather conditions (36.2 [%]), holiday (23 [%]) and children’s school breaks (19.1
[%]), with the price only in the fourth place (13.8 [%]).
Scale variables Mean (M) Std. Deviation (SD)
Number of spa visits per year 1.38 0.55
Number of days per spa visits 7.46 2.33
Total number of spa-days per year 11.31 8.55
Table 5. Respondent answers on survey questions – scale variables
Answers to questions concerning the number of visits to spas, as well as the number of days per
visit are shown in Table 5. The average number of visits to the spas of families with small chil-
dren, in the course of one year, based on the answers of respondents, was M = 1.38. The number
of days that a family with small children would spend on average per a visit to a spa amounted

IMPROVING THE MANAGEMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESOURCES
BY INCREASING OCCUPANCY RATE OF SPAS’ CAPACITY: A CASE STUDY OF SERBIA
633
to something more than seven days (M = 7.46; SD = 2.33). The average number of days that
one family would spend in spas, in one year, may be obtained by multiplying the values of the
answers to the previous two questions and is M = 11.31 days per year, with a standard deviation
(SD = 8.55).
By analyzing all the results for issues related to testing the hypothesis H(3), it can be concluded
that the construction or reconstruction of additional facilities, parents with small children would
be encouraged to become users of spa services in the o-season. With such results, the specic
hypothesis H(3) is conrmed.
Since all three specic hypotheses H(1), H(2) and H(3) are conrmed, it can be concluded that
the basic hypothesis H(0) is also conrmed: By attracting families with small children, it is
possible to achieve a higher degree of occupancy rate in the spas of Republic of Serbia - thus
achieving the objective of this work.
6. CONCLUSION
Spa tourism is the oldest form of organized tourism, which was referred to the development of
health, medical tourism, for some time. By displaying the state of the RS spas in the last ten
years, the study results suggest that the RS spas face a problem, the low level of occupancy rate -
for years. Besides that, the research results conrming that by creating the favorable conditions
for the stay of small children in spas, as well as by providing benets to families with small
children, such families would be encouraged to visit the RS spas. The basic hypothesis H(0) is
also conrmed, that by attracting families with small children it is possible to achieve a higher
degree of occupancy rate (and increase business performance) of spas in the RS. This research
is just one of the possibilities to respond to the problem which has occurred in the RS spas in
recent years. Other options mentioned above, leave a space for authors of this work, but also
other interested researchers to further explore and examine under what conditions other target
groups would be willing to visit and spend holiday in the RS spas.
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