Chapter 10: Tourist Motivation Factors Towards Health and Wellness Tourism in Malaysia: A Case Study of Marathon Events in Kuala Lumpur

Improving services and goods in the hospitality and tourist business is among the main motivating factors for people to visit wellness and health centres and gain an understanding regarding who and why people go to spas. When it comes to visiting wellness and health facilities, visitors and tourists have high expectations according to their preferences. The importance of determining visitor's motivating elements for wellness and health tourism is significant. The major goal of this study is to determine the characteristics that motivate tourists to visit Malaysia for wellness and health tourism, especially in choosing a spa as one of the tourism mediums. All human beings have the right to a living standard that is suited to their wellbeing and health, including clothing, food, shelter, required social services and medical care, as stated in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 25 (Alfredsson & Eide, 1999). Malaysians are fortunate to live in a nation that is regarded as one of the best medical travel spots in the world, thanks to its top-notch health and wealth facilities (Kumar & Hussian, 2016). According to Hashemi et al. (2015), the ageing population desire to remain young and healthy, and social trends that prioritize health are factors that motivate individuals to visit spas. This at once unmistakably defines the way of life of the current generation, who are willing to spend their money on spa treatments and health-related social trends to maintain a youthful appearance and self-assurance in themselves.