APPLICABILITY OF AMERICAN WELLNESS RESEARCH METHODS IN CASE OF CENTRAL-EUROPEAN COUNTRIES

Sa？etak The last two decades experienced an explosive development in health tourism in Hungary, which also implied the rapid transformation of the offers of the wellness services. After the overview of the theoretical and conceptual background of the health tourism and wellness we conducted a questionnaire survey based on Ardell’s model, which showed significant differences between the different generations, particularly in case of Generation Y. This result induced us to pay special attention to the young. Several American researches investigated the health conscious lifestyle of the youth along the wellness philosophy. Based on these we established our models aligning to the Central European peculiarities then we conducted questionnaire surveys at college institutions of some Central European countries. In our work we present the results of the research, that is the general well-being feeling of the young along the holistic wellness philosophy. The practical applicability of the research lies in that it provides a guideline for the examined age group with regard to what areas of the wellness lifestyle have any deficiencies and where does one need to change in the lifestyle for a healthier life. This leads to a kind of balance which provides the fulfilment of the ‘body-soul-spirit holistic model’ in the individual’s professional and private life