PERCEPTIONS OF WELLNESS TOURISM IN SRI LANKA: A THEMATIC AND SPATIAL ANALYSIS OF USER–GENERATED CONTENT FROM KEY WELLNESS DESTINATIONS

Wellness tourism is growing in the Sri Lankan tourism industry; however, there is a lack of systematic research available to inform how visitors perceive wellness tourism. Therefore, this study examined visitors’ perceptions of wellness tourism in Sri Lanka from a qualitative perspective using user–generated content associated with Colombo, Galle and Badulla. Online reviews were collected from hotel–spas, wellness–centres, and Ayurveda–spas listed on two major travel platforms, TripAdvisor and Booking.com. As part of a larger project involving online review data, this research analyses thematic and sentiment data to identify the primary experience–based domains; to measure and categories the overall sentiment polarity toward the primary elements of wellness tourism; and to depict how most rated wellness experiences exist across the geographical region of the country. Themes found within the reviewed content include Professionalism, Quality of experience, Peacefulness, and Relaxation; and wellness tourism elements most commonly mentioned include Ayurveda therapies, Body massages, Sports massages, Herbals, Yoga therapy, and High–end treatments. Approximately 84% of the overall review content had a positive sentiment regarding the wellness tourism offerings. The findings point toward the incredible value of end–user–generated content for informing destination management and enhancing service quality associated with the development of sustainable wellness tourism in Sri Lanka.