Which Are the Factors That Limit the Tourism Experience in Portuguese Thermal Hotels? An Exploration Using UGC

Thermalism is an evolving activity under the pressure of the demands of a more exigent tourist. It is therefore necessary to understand this demand, while thermal facilities are trying to modernise their facilities and services to adapt them to the pressure of increasing competition. This growing interest in wellness tourism is transforming the supply of products and services, making it essential to analyse the tourist experience, being the user-generated content (UGC) in online media a relevant source of information to maintain customer satisfaction and loyalty sustainably. The objective of this work focuses on analysing the factors that limit the tourism experience in Portuguese thermal hotels through the reviews established by the users of these facilities. The analysis of the negative comments recorded shows that the thermal hotel experience is mainly limited by elements related to the escapist dimension of the experience proposed by Pine and Gilmore in 1998, although the educational dimension is the least negatively rated.