A resort is a self-contained destination designed to provide vacationers with everything they need for a complete holiday experience, including accommodation, meals, entertainment, and relaxation activities. Core resort services often include balneotherapy (therapeutic mineral baths), hydrotherapy (water therapy), and climatotherapy (climate therapy). Resort medicine can be utilized for health promotion, prevention, treatment, and rehabilitation.
The use of natural mineral waters, gases, and peloids in many countries is referred to as balneotherapy, but other equivalent terms also exist. Substances used for balneotherapy are medicinal mineral water, medicinal peloids, and natural gases (bathing, drinking, inhalation, etc.). The therapeutic use of ordinary water (tap water) is called hydrotherapy, and the use of climatic factors for therapeutic purposes is called climatotherapy.
Resort medicine encompasses “all the medical activities originating and developing at resorts based on scientific evidence aiming at health promotion, prevention, cure, and rehabilitation.”
The field of science dealing with resort medicine is called resort science. It encompasses medical sciences, psychology, social sciences, technical sciences, chemistry, physics, geography, law, etc.
When considering the impacts of resort medicine, it’s important to account for other environmental factors. These factors can be categorized within the framework of the ICF (International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health). Examples include being under the care of specialized, well-educated physicians (ICF domain: e355), having an environment that supports social relationships (family, peer groups) (see ICF domains: d740, d760), facilities for leisure, cultural activities, recreation and sports (see ICF domain: d920), access to healthy air and a nature-close environment (see ICF domain: e210).
