Slovak spas are part of the public healthcare system. This system is under pressure due to the demographic trend of an ageing population and increasing healthcare costs, including costs expended by health insurance companies on spa care. The aim of this research note is to describe the relationship between medical and non-medical forms of spa tourism. By means of a case study, it describes the importance of public health insurance to the occupancy rate of accommodation capacity, the manner of payment for spa care and its medical or wellness character. In addition, it analyses the current financial situation of these operations. The traditional exploitation of natural healing springs for treatment, its connection to the public health insurance system and the level of spa treatments result in the prevalence of medical stays.

The article deals with the financing of spa undertakings through the health insurance system. The analysis is based on the financial statements of 28 spa undertakings operating in the Slovak Republic, their contracts with the individual health insurance companies and secondary data sources (accommodation statistics of these undertakings, the number of medical stays paid by clients themselves and of those covered by public health insurance, the spa treatment expenditure of the health insurance companies, the percentage of this expenditure out of the total expenditure spent by the health insurance companies on health care). The still significant percentage of revenues from the health insurance companies out of the total revenues of spa undertakings shows the prevalence of the medical nature of spa care. At the same time, it reflects the current tax measures related to the spa industry and shows that the introduction of a recreation allowance might influence the future development of spa care.

Demographic trends in population ageing have put increasing pressure on health care costs. These include spa care expenses. Thus, the aim of this article is to analyse the importance of public health insurance in the utilisation of spa accommodation capacities, the health insurers' spa care expenses, and the trends in the number of self-payers. Besides, it analyses spa care by treatment specialisation and the number of foreign visitors to Slovak spas. The health insurers' limited spa care expenses place greater emphasis on the creation by spas of wellness products and on the building up of relationships through destination management organisations that enable the integration of resources for marketing activities.

The aim of the research is to determine the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic (and subsequent state aid) on selected financial indicators of tour operators operating on Slovakia’s market. The article analyses the changes in the market between 2018 and 2020 (market concentration, insolvency insurance). For the purposes of describing the financial position of tour operators, the medians of selected financial indicators were processed. At the same time, a two-sample t-test was used to test the hypotheses of the medians of these indicators for tour operators with a valid insolvency protection contract and without such a contract. The Herfindahl–Hirschman index was used to quantify the impact of the pandemic on the tour operator market concentration ratio. The state aid provided prevented tour operators from going bankrupt. Based on the Herfindahl–Hirschman index, we can say that there was an increase in concentration in this market. At the same time, however, there was a decline in profitability and an increase in their Liabilities to Assets ratio. However, currently insured tour operators do not have higher values of these indicators. These data are important for the discussion on the legal regulation of the protection of tour operators against insolvency.

The worldwide expansion of geotourism and its ongoing development have captured the interest of numerous scholars, prompting them to investigate various theoretical dimensions within this emerging field. This paper explores the concept of geotourism products and the importance of comprehensively understanding this topic. A thorough review of the existing literature indicates that different researchers offer diverse definitions and interpretations of geotourism products. However, analysis of relevant publications reveals that these perspectives do not adequately incorporate the fundamental principles of geotourism alongside the well-defined and broadly accepted concept of tourism products in general. To facilitate the accurate analysis of research outcomes and to support the effective advancement of geotourism, this paper advocates for a clear and well-defined understanding of what constitutes a geotourism product.