Safety and security as systematic component of wellness centres in Slovenia
Helena Cvikl
University of Primorska
Faculty of Tourism Studies Portorož - TURISTICA, Slovenia helena.cvikl@turistica.si
janez mekinc
University of Primorska
Faculty of Tourism Studies Portorož - TURISTICA, Slovenia janez.mekinc@turistica.si
Abstract
The following study presents a legal review of all formal and technical regulations which directly or indirectly affect the safety standards in wellness centres in Slovenia in a systematic and comprehensive manner. One can define the significance of security as a competitive advantage in wellness oriented business activities. As well, security is becoming more and more important in the marketing of wellness oriented businesses as well as other tourism services. Due to the specific nature of wellness oriented offers, there are many different segments of security incorporated therein. Among these are care and concern for the health of guests, for their personal safety, the safety of their property and probably most importantly, care for the security of their personal information. It is this last element which enables guests to place their trust in a particular wellness centre since careful protection of personal information ensures the personal safety of guests.
Key words: wellness, security, personal integrity, quality, technical standards
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Helena Cvikl, Janez Mekinc
Safety and security as systematic component of wellness .
1 Introduction
Tourism is becoming a globally economically significant activity which, at the same time, must be very sensitive to issues regarding security. The current global war on terrorism has placed security on a pedestal and made it into a social value which has edged out human rights and freedoms, the right to a fair trial and last but not least, human dignity (Mekinc, 2007). Greater risks trigger complex new security problems and challenges which are a mix of political, social, ecological and psychological factors. These factors define the level of threat on a global and local level (Ambrož & Mavrič, 2004).
In comparison to other important segments of tourism, security in tourism has been relatively poorly studied and consequently, it is a topic rarely written about. This is especially true for security in accommodation establishments where wellness-related activities are included. The publication entitled "Tourism, Crime and International Security Issues" (Pizam & Mansfeld, 1996) presents one of the first large-scale investigations of the key elements showing the relationship between tourism and security. The book includes four themes: tourism and crime, tourism and political instability, tourism and war, and the topic which most interests us -crime and the hotel industry. According to the authors, all the above mentioned factors have a significantly negative impact on tourism. Articles and research on the safety of tourist destinations and research on the impact of security issues on the individual tourist activity are easily found.
In each of these studies, the authors have researched the safety of tourist destinations as a component of the image of that destination (Milman & Pizam, 1995), the relationship between tour operators and destination safety (Čavlek, 2002), the impact of culture on police cooperation with the hotel industry in selected U.S. and Brazilian tourist destinations (Tarlow & Santana, 2002), the impact of crime on tourism and the hotel industry in Jamaica (Ajagunna, 2006), the risk of tsunamis in the Mediterranean and their impact on tourism (Camilleri, 2006), etc. A richer set of articles and research can be found in the area of the so-called
micro-level study of safety issues in tourism. We wish to take a more in-depth look at the research of Shortt and Ruys (1994), in which the authors researched the attitudes of older tourists towards the hotel security issues while questioning which security precautions most influence the perception of older tourists regarding safety in hotels. Groenenboom and Jones (2003) studied the operations of hotel security services and their contribution to the success of hotel management in the first class hotels in the centre of London.
The researchers also dealt with the study of security management and crime in hotels (Gill et al., 2002), fire safety in hotels (Roberts & Wing Chan, 2000), safety for children on hotel playgrounds and tennis courts (Burstein, 1985), guest views on the safety of hotel websites (Law & Hsu, 2005) and food safety in catering (Hertzman & Barrash, 2007). When reviewing the literature on the safety of domestic tourism, we can trace a collection of papers from the Conference on Security and Tourism, but unfortunately there are no articles on security in wellness centres.
A systematic approach to managing hotel security can only be found in the Proceedings of Security in Tourism (Mekinc & Dobovsek, 2010), where Cvikl (2010) notes that approaches to managing security are complementary in various facilities which are engaged in service activities. A scientific inquiry about safety in wellness centres cannot be found anywhere and this is the reason why we have decided that our research should be focussed on a systematic review of all legal and technical regulations which determine the elements of safety in wellness centres. The aim of this article is to systematically and comprehensively gather and present all legal and technical regulations which are necessary to ensure the highest possible standards of safety and consequently, the highest possible quality of service in wellness centres.
We must be aware of the fact that now more than ever, security is now connected to tourism. The need for security around the world is increasing, especially after the events of September 11, 2001 and this is a theme for numerous expert round tables. Recently, security related issues which stem from a new strain
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Helena Cvikl, Janez Mekinc
Safety and security as systematic component of wellness .
of flu virus was put in the forefront of the media and at the time of this writing, a cloud of volcanic ash from the Icelandic volcano Eyjafjallajokull is threatening the European skies, causing difficulties and disturbances for air transport.
The race of innovative weapons is the colourful phrase by Baumola (2002), who describes innovation as a primary weapon of competition. Security in tourism is certainly one of those types of tools which various tourism-related businesses must include in their offer. Security as a value is at the top of the hierarchical system of values for all people. The response by individuals is exceptionally turbulent and uncompromising when their security is threatened and they experience what they perceive as a threat to their life. We hold the safety and security of our lives and health as of vital importance. The results of analyses from different parts of the world show that the impacts of safety incidents on the tourism industry are negative and far-reaching in all cases (Mansfeld & Pizam, 2006). This also holds true for safety incidents which occur at hotels, thermal spas and wellness facilities. The WEF - World Economic Forum (2009) also emphasises how important security is for tourism. It deals with security separately in every annual analysis of competition in the tourism industry. Furthermore, the forum considers security as a competitive advantage or disadvantage for a specific country as a tourist destination. Security as a value is also very important in making decisions when we choose a hotel wellness centre or a destination for our holidays. Occurrences of security related incidents cause a change in the perception of tourists regarding the risk which they are still prepared to accept in order to experience various tourist offers (Mainsfeld & Pizam, 2006).
The relationship between security and human rights is also transferable and comparable with the relationship between security on the one hand and freedom, genuine pleasure, discretion and the integrity of tourists on the other. Both relationships are reciprocal in their quantity and quality. Regarding the former, stricter security measures cause an obligatory reduction in and a restriction of human rights. In tourism, this fact is often directly applied to the relationship between
security and tourism in the following way: the greater the assurance of security, the less freedom and genuine pleasure during tourism activities (Mekinc, 2009). Wellness tourism takes on a special significance since tourism and health-care services overlap. Workers in hotels and health resorts must be especially sensitive when it comes to guest security. Security is not separate from tourism, but is an integral element of it. Tourism services which do not include an element of security do not have the conditions for successful development (Rožič, 2006).
Data from the Euro barometer show that security is becoming more and more of an important factor for making decisions about tourism services or tourism destinations. The Euro barometer research in 2010 on the holiday making routines of Europeans pointed out that security is already the most important factor when deciding about holiday making for Danes, Cyprians and Maltesians. Even in Slovenia, security is an important factor in making a decision about a holiday for 18% of people. Security is positioned immediately after price (24%) and quality (22.2%). Furthermore, it is evident from this research that the question of security is more important for women (15.4%) than it is for men (10.9% of males surveyed) (The Gallup Organisation, 2009).
Relaxation and wellness programs are pursuant to the promotion of a healthy lifestyle and have been developing quickly at an above average rate over the last decade. Wellness tourism is one of the fastest developing industries in tourism in general. More stressful lifestyles have necessitated the creation of services which help to alleviate those stresses. Wellness services must be of high quality, since only a quality service represents a higher perceived value of the company and a competitive advantage against other providers of wellness services in the eyes of a user. An important segment of ensuring quality is undoubtedly security. One of the first writers on wellness to publish in the professional and scientific literature was Dunn (1961), who associated "the high degree of wellness" with the quality of service. Later authors, such as Travis (1988), characterized wellness as a service which protected humans from premature death. In the pertinent Slovenian literature we can also find similar views
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Helena Cvikl, Janez Mekinc
Safety and security as systematic component of wellness .
wherein authors emphasize that wellness is a group of decisions made in order to achieve the highest state of health, while at the same time wellness is not a cure but a way of life (Gojcic, 2005). Similar opinions can be found with Thomas et al., who define the "specifiers" of health in their wellness model "Health for human integrity". These specifiers are heredity, health protection, the environment and the way of life or lifestyle which have both positive and negative effects on an individual's health. An individual's responsibility for his own health is set in the core of the model (Thomas at al., 1993).
Ensuring security is a requirement and a minimum for the basic operations of a provider of wellness services; despite this, these providers differ greatly from one another regarding the level of security they provide. Not much has been written about wellness centres and security in Slovenia, which is why this is an area which will require some regulation in the future. Models exist (e.g. DOSTWELL) (MITZ, 2010), which hold the position of standardizing wellness services at the level of the European Union (EU), however, at the moment no one has applied themselves to the security of wellness services.
This research is based on a review of the entire legislation of the Republic of Slovenia, which directly or indirectly affects the safety and quality of services in the wellness centres in Slovenia. Using a methodological approach, we systematically reviewed and analyzed all the legal regulations in this field and sequentially eliminated the important parts which are directly or indirectly related to the opening, operation and management of wellness centres in Slovenia. We added the professional and scientific findings of international and domestic experts in the field to the regulatory reviews. The same regulations also apply to various other facilities such as beauty salons, spas, swimming pools, saunas, etc.
The purpose of the study is to analyze and synthesize the information in the field of legal regulations regarding the management of wellness centres and to expose the weaknesses based on the technical and scientific findings of other authors. For the first time,
all the necessary regulations for the management of wellness centres are collected in one place. Based on our findings and the involvement of international comparison in this field, we have formed a synthesis of legal information and international opinions and findings published within the study area. The aim of the study was also to define the gaps and limitations in the research field.
2 The Development of Wellness Tourism
Wellness tourism is an integral part of the offer of various tourist agencies. To a greater extent the wellness offer also includes providers who are indirectly connected to healthcare tourism, e.g. hair and beauty salons, physiotherapists and institutes for rehabilitation, different therapists and dentists etc. All those providers who are included in the system of public healthcare, or offer wellness services as a supplementary activity, e.g. in swimming pools, hotel and fitness centres etc., the question of security regarding the offer of these services is not that exposed to such an extent because it is already covered in the basic activity of the wellness provider. Providers who have only just begun implementing wellness activities are often faced with numerous restrictions which relate mainly to various legal aspects to protect consumers. The basic mission of a country can be to provide different forms of security to its residents and visitors from abroad. During its accession into the EU, Slovenia had to harmonise numerous laws and other regulations with EU legislation. However, we can establish that the EU directive on tourism services does not encroach upon areas which are the subject of wellness activities. Tourism in the area of wellness has many faces but the number of standards in this area is relatively small. Standardization attempts within the framework of wellness provider associations have not provided adequate results thus far. In Germany for example, we can find that there are more than seven different wellness associations, which seek to assert their quality standards and to standardize the content of minimal equipment and service offers. All this is very confus-
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Helena Cvikl, Janez Mekinc
Safety and security as systematic component of wellness .
ing to consumers because they face difficulty when finding themselves in a network of different standards and content offers.
The content of the wellness offer refers to the area of guest accommodations (the wellness hotel), where specific safety standards arise in the area of food (healthy food) and drinks (beverages, drinking water), where safety standards are well developed for physical activity (physical exercises, swimming, hiking, to enhance physical capabilities, etc.), in which the European standard EN 15288 was enforced last year. This also includes bodily care and cosmetic services (beauty programs, body correction, etc.) where they have recently implemented standards on safety and consumer protection and on health services (examinations, therapies, baths, aromatherapy, etc.), where safety standards are at a relatively high level due to the direct and indirect involvement of providers also in public healthcare services. Standards have also been implemented on relaxation programs (meditation, yoga, etc..), mental activities (creative workshops, learning etc.), on spiritual activities, medicine (herbs, vitamins, minerals, etc.), on alternative medicine (acupuncture, reiki, homeopathy, etc.) and on esoterics (shamen, geomantics, Feng Shui, etc.), where we can find significant deviations in security standards, since they are relatively new to our economy, having been transferred from distant lands.
From understanding the content of wellness tourism we can conclude that wellness as a business incorporates many activities which offer guests mainly short-term effects. Inquiry into wellness tourism relates primarily to beauty programs and programs of indulgence, which is a very broad concept, as well as the availability of swimming pools and saunas, swimming and relaxation and of healthy diets and drink. Therefore we will focus attention on these types of offers, since the German analysis of F.U.R (ReiseAnalyse, 2009) on holiday motifs and demand of travellers in wellness tourism for the stated content achieve between 65% and 82% of the demand.
3 Security in Wellness Facilities
Wellness service providers usually deal with the question of security in the design of buildings and in the process of fulfilling conditions to obtain an operating permit. For facilities (except for the support and movable objects), in which wellness activities are also implemented, the Law on Constructing Facilities (Official Gazette, no. 12, 2004) states that they must be constructed in accordance with the legislation in the field of construction. Article 9 of the law states that facilities must meet the following conditions as to its purpose:
-	Mechanical resistance and stability,
-	Fire safety,
-	Hygiene and health protection and protection of surroundings,
-	Safety in use,
-	Protection against noise and
-	Energy saving measures and heat conservation.
The Law on Catering (2007) also states that the facility in which a catering service intends to operate must obtain an operating permit in advance, which often causes problems primarily for wellness service providers. Minimum standards are set out in the Rules on the minimum technical conditions and minimal services for the provision of catering (Rulebook, 2000). For example Article 9 states that the catering facility must have a clean supply of drinking water, a proper sewage system, fire protection, a connection to the electricity grid and a phone connection to the public telephone network. Since other legislation deals with fire safety and not catering legislation, we do not specifically deal with this topic despite it being a topic that is most often discussed in terms of safety in European institutions.
In 2008, the Ministry of Health Republic of Slovenia published spatial technical guidelines on its website for the construction of medical facilities, "TSG-12640-001: 2008 Health Facilities", which are published on the website of the Ministry of Health (2008).
These guidelines are related to hospitals, health centres and institutions for healthcare but are also used for planning the rooms used for treatment at health
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resorts where wellness services are provided. These guidelines are also used for private concessionaires in the Public Health Service. With the development of medical wellness programs, the practice abroad has been that the hospital budgeting covers a part of the cost of wellness services, provided that the service operates in the appropriate place with appropriate staffing and provides an adequate level of quality.
These guidelines are also important for wellness centres because wellness tourism in Slovenia is largely related to disease prevention and partially on medical rehabilitation activities at resorts, which is why the space requirements arising from these technical guidelines are important when designing a wellness offer. Technical guidelines provide safe working conditions for employees, for the implementation of these activities and provide a minimum of individual rooms depending on the type of therapy (Technical Guidelines, 2008, 148):
-	kinesiotherapy - plays a major role in the treatment of the locomotor system; exercises are performed at a gym (team and individual) using various devices and accessories,
-	hydrotherapy - the use of water for the implementation of physiotherapy techniques for achieving and maintaining physical fitness, obtaining flexibility and muscular strength; therapy is carried out in tubs such as the Hubbard bath, therapeutic baths, partial bath, etc.,
thermal and krio therapy - the use of heating and cooling; therapy is performed on therapeutic beds, which can also be used for massage,
-	inhalation (Respiratory Therapy) - implementation of breathing exercises, the need for privacy in the implementation of certain methods of respiratory therapy, the patient requires individual treatment in a separate room,
-	electrotherapy and light therapy - the use of electrical power for the implementation of various therapeutic techniques (low frequency therapy, with diadynamic with interference currents, ultrasound waves with appropriate frequency, infrared rays, UV rays)
- psychotherapy and work therapy - helping patients achieve a specific physical function and achieve a desired mental state.
The Law on Safety and Health Republic of Slovenia (LSHO, 1999) also deals with the question of the adequacy of the spatial and technical options in offering wellness services. In Article 5 there is an obligation to take the necessary measures to ensure the safety and health of workers. This would also include the prevention of occupational risks by informing and training employees with the appropriate organization and the necessary material resources in order to prepare preventive measures. Furthermore, working and production methods that would provide a greater degree of safety and health at work would be selected. An additional requirement is that all these activities must be part of the overall activities of the employer and at all organizational levels. A Health and Safety at Work declaration (Article 14) must be adopted by the employer in written form, in which the methods and measures for ensuring health and safety at work are defined.
4 A Healthy Diet as a Wellness Offer
Healthy food has become the most common theme regarding the wellness offers in recent years. In terms of security, this issue is also fairly well organized in Slovenia, although this cannot be said for the level of inclusion of organic products in the wellness offer. When preparing food and drinks wellness providers must also comply with the principles and guidelines of good hygiene practices / HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point System) for the hospitality industry (2010).
Recently, even in our market there is ever more "magical food" with medicinal effects, nutritional supplements, lubricants, medicines, drinks, etc. of an unverified origin. Even wellness providers are not immune to the inclusion of such items in their offer because they are believed to have beneficial effects on the health status and feelings of users. Therefore, it is
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Safety and security as systematic component of wellness .
perhaps not even surprising that in some zoo in China as many as 60 endangered Siberian tigers1 died in a very short period of time. There is a great demand for products that contain »miracle medicine« from the Asiatic region. Providers of wellness programs must comply with all regulations defining the (this is a source at the Ministry of Health (Ministrstvo za zdravje, 2010):
-	quality and microbiological requirements for food,
-	technical conditions for hygiene and sanitation for the production, sale, storage and other food operations,
-	food additives, pesticides, veterinary drugs and other contaminants and their residues in food,
-	control over the handling of food and
-	provisions that define specific measures to protect against infectious diseases.
5 Safety in Swimming Pools
In Slovenia, a large part of the wellness offer relates to the offer of swimming pool programs, where the issue of safety is regulated in detail by the Law on the Protection from Drowning (LPD, 2007) and its implementing regulations. Last year, the deadline for the harmonization of national legal systems to new European standards in the field of swimming pools also took place called EN 15288. With regards to safety, the provider must provide the following services:
-	the proper arrangement of work and equipment and resources for safety at work,
-	the required emergency equipment and resources for water rescue,
-	qualified employees for water rescue,
-	full access to emergency and rescue equipment.
It is necessary to ensure the following activities for all swimming pools:
-	continuous presence of the prescribed number of lifeguards, except in pools, where the common bathing area does not exceed 200 m2 of the surface area and the depth of water in any part does not exceed 1.35 m,
1 Parts of the body of the Siberian tiger are used in traditional Chinese medicine.
-	observation, rescue and first aid at the beach area and carry out other measures to facilitate uninterrupted and safe swimming,
-	hygienic maintenance of facilities, equipment, apparatuses and instruments on the beach,
-	statutory hygiene requirements for bathing water in swimming pools,
-	publication of statutory notices in connection with the hygiene requirements for bathing water,
-	other requirements prescribed for bathing water.
The biggest problem for operators of pools and saunas is providing the adequate quality of bathing water. Under the terms of the Rules on the minimum health and other requirements for bathing water (Official gazette, no. 73, 2003) the following must be provided:
-	before entering the pool platform it is mandatory for visitors to shower and to disinfect their feet,
-	children under three years old are required to use a swimsuit or bathing diapers,
-	in the preparation of bathing water at least a residual disinfection effect and correction of ph values must be carried out,
-	each pool must be equipped with devices for the continuous measurement of temperature, free chlorine, redox potential and the ph value of the bathing water and with automatic metering devices for the correction of value parameters,
-	on a daily basis, it is necessary to replace, calculated on the user, at least 30 litres of bathing water with charging water, which is checked by the gauge for the quantity of added water,
-	in pools that operate throughout the year, it is necessary at least every six months to completely empty, rinse and refill and put in chlorine for 2 hours throughout the circulatory system, including the swimming pools.
-	the maintenance staff at the swimming pool facilities which operate year-round, must provide a sample of bath water and clean water once a month and the filling water once a year.
The issue of security for the operation of swimming pools is specified by the regulations on technical measures and requirements for the safe operation of swim-
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Helena Cvikl, Janez Mekinc
Safety and security as systematic component of wellness .
ming pools and to prevent drowning in swimming pools (Official Gazette, no. 88, 2003), and amongst other things defines:
-	access to toilet facilities from the pool deck must be designed and implemented so that a visitor can cross the special foot bath,
-	the depth of water depends on the user's bathing area so that for children it shall not exceed 0.6 m, while the bathing area can be further divided into areas for young children, where the depth shall not exceed 0.35 m; for non-swimmers up to 1.35 m; for swimmers it can be more than 1.35 m and at least 1.8 m in places where jumping into the water from the edge of the pool is allowed,
-	for swimming pools with a water depth of up to 1.35 m there should be at least 2.7 m bathing area for each swimmer, and for pools with a water depth of 1.35 m there should be at least a 4.5 m bathing area for each swimmer;
-	each swimming pool must be equipped with prescribed signs about the dangers and obligations, prohibitions and notices which must be installed in accordance with the regulations governing indoor and outdoor pool signs and their installation.
6 Sanitary and Hygiene Standards in Wellness Centres
The rules on the minimum sanitary and health conditions for the performance of hygiene care and other similar activities (Official Gazette, no. 104, 2009) are also very important for wellness providers. The provisions of these rules also apply to saunas, baths, solariums, massage parlours and all other operations performed in salons for skin care, hairdressing and hair removal, cosmetic operations, pedicures, piercing, tattooing and other similar procedures.
In Article 4 of these regulations, good hygiene practice is stated, which includes:
-	ensuring hygienic and technical conditions, -maintenance of equipment and utensils
-	cleaning
-	disinfection
-	staff training and
-	waste management
Rules for equipment sauna provide the following commitments:
The rules for sauna equipment state the following obligations:
-	Instructions for proper use of sauna should be located in the change rooms; the instructions must indicate the requirement to shower before using the sauna, the recommended time for using the sauna and information on the temperature and relative humidity of the air.
-	A notice must be placed in a visible location with information in highly visible and big block letters on health risks and restrictions on the use of saunas.
-	The sauna must have a ventilation system which allows for efficient air exchange, the floors should be slip resistant; equipment for controlling the operation of the sauna should not be within reach of the user.
-	In addition to the heat source there must be a hygrometer, thermometer, clock and alarm switch in the sauna.
-	When additional humidifying of the air is being performed in the sauna, proper sauna drying must be ensured after its use.
-	Areas in the sauna with high relative humidity must be smooth and allow continuous drainage of condensation, a pressure hose for cleaning and rinsing areas must be connected to the water system in the sauna and areas for seating and floors should be cleaned and disinfected at least once a day.
Given the technical requirements for tanning equipment these rules state:
-	The operator must provide technical impeccability of the tanning bed, which is regularly maintained and serviced according to the manufacturer's instructions, including the regular exchange of tubes. Documentation must be kept on file.
-	The operator has to measure the UV radiation of sun beds every three years with a legal person
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Safety and security as systematic component of wellness .
who has an accreditation for the measurement of optical radiation.
-	Solariums must be equipped with a counter to keep track of the number of hours of operation, a timepiece for measuring radiation, a cooling system, a ventilation system and an automatic disconnection system.
-	Solariums must be fitted with additional screens and arranged in the room as to avoid unwanted exposure to UV radiation.
-	The use of automated tanning beds is allowed only under the supervision of trained staff.
-	At the time of exposure to UV radiation, the operator must provide users with the use of the appropriate protective eyewear which meet the requirements of the regulations on personal protective equipment and the applicable standards of the Republic of Slovenia in this field.
-	When using protective eyewear for repeated use, they must be kept clean and disinfected after each use.
-	There must be a notice in at least A3 format in the waiting room and in the tanning studio, with instructions in highly visible block letters on the safe use of the solarium, a warning about the health risks and on the restrictions on the use of solariums listed in Annex 1, which is an integral part of these rules.
-	A table of individual skin phototypes and an indication of an erythemal dose or exposure time to UV radiation is recommended for each skin phototype must be placed in a visible area in the waiting room.
-	Health claims about the positive effects of exposure to UV radiation when tanning on the health of people shall not be permitted when using tanning salons for cosmetic purposes.
7 Technical Security and the Protection of Personal Data of Guests
Guests of wellness facilities are often well informed, knowledgeable and have self-initiative, which is why
it is also worth mentioning some of the provisions of the Protection of Personal Data (Official Gazette, no. 94, 2007) which classifies data on health status, ethnic and religious orientation amongst sensitive personal information. A provider of wellness services must also ensure adequate protection of personal data and their use. The law also explicitly states that personal data shall be collected only for specified purposes and are not permitted to be abused. In practice; however, we often encounter cases where hoteliers use personal information, resulting for example from the demand for tourist information or from the bill for a stay in an accommodation facility, or payment for a specified service used for promotional sales activities, although they have not been authorised to do so.
The trend of uncritical use of modern video technology under the pretext that it is in the interest of guests should also be mentioned. Article 77 clearly states that the video surveillance inside the premises can be carried out only in exceptional cases where it is strictly necessary for the safety of persons or property or to protect classified information and trade secrets; this purpose can not be achieved by milder means. The law prohibits the implementation of video surveillance in work areas outside the workplace, especially in change rooms, lifts and sanitary facilities.
The problem of the protection of personal data is also a concern of the European Parliament (2007) in the resolution on the development of European tourism which states that it requires the rapid development of information technologies in tourism, drawing up rules to protect consumer and personal data in electronic reserves for which the Commission should first carry out a preliminary analysis of a particular market.
In providing the physical and material security for a guest or their personal belongings and valuables, physical and technical security are usually used in the wellness facilities. Technical security involves protection through technical means, such as sensors, card readers, and especially cameras which are used to record and monitor events on the premises of the accommodation establishments and the immediate surroundings of the building. Physical protection
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Safety and security as systematic component of wellness .
covers the protection of the aforesaid premises with security guards. Regardless of the method of protection, it involves intervention in the private sphere of guest, since cameras record the movements of individual entities within the facility. Many times video cameras monitor the entrance / exit hallway, elevator and reception of the wellness centre and at the same time record the exact movements of the guest and their social interactions within the centre. We record highly sensitive personal information with the aim of protecting the guest. Even more delicate is the collection and storage of this information or recordings. Of course, the discretion of the guest from this angle is minimised and such measures are especially sensitive to the views of the potential misuse of personal data. It could be just unintentional abuse by the employee in an accommodation facility with the help of the collected data, when they monitor the movements of the guest and obtain their personal data. There of course primarily involves non-compliance with professional ethics by the employee. Alternatively, it could involve more serious abuse. The latter may already occur at the time of unprofessional storage and integration of personal data, which is not in compliance with the Law on the Protection of Personal Data. Alternatively, the data collected in accommodation establishments could be unduly forwarded to third parties.
With an increase in technical and physical security, the management of wellness centres ensures a reduction in the liability for any claims or lawsuits in the case of accident, theft and other negative occurrences. Due to increasingly aware guests, there will be some legal action taken for damages caused by any improper collection of personal data and misuse of personal data. The security of guests in all areas represents a great challenge for the management of wellness centres because though it can be touted as a competitive advantage, it can also turn into a competitive disadvantage if security measures are not implemented professionally.
8 Conclusion
Security as a social good is moving into the realm of personal property, while the responsibility of govern-
ments is increasingly moving onto the shoulders of individuals and businesses. High quality security systems for protecting buildings are among the most effective methods for ensuring safety within facilities. Of course, it is very difficult for the owners of wellness centres to build in high quality security system, since such a system represents a significant outlay of money. Cost rises sharply as a facility grows larger and is not a feasible investment for the short term, despite the fact that the price of security is not measurable. In Europe, the safety of tourist facilities, as well as wellness centres, highlights the particular technical aspect of the safety of guests, which is especially important for facilities of higher category. From the analysis of the demand of guests (Cvikl & Rumbak, 2009) it is evident that the role of safety equipment for the decision on choosing a hotel also increases when the category increases. Owners of wellness centres will have to be aware of their responsibility for the safety of guests. In Slovenia, no research has been carried out to determine whether the high turnover of staff in the tourism and hospitality industry has an impact on safety in catering establishments. Restaurants hire part time workers to take shifts mostly at weekends, when visits from guests increase and these part time workers are often students who do not know the guests, the safety devices or other security measures.
Wellness Tourism, as one of the fastest growing tourism industries, will have to raise the awareness amongst its employees regarding the importance of security in the wellness offer and recognizing that information and knowledge of regulations in the areas of wellness activities ensures quality. Expertise that is necessary for the implementation of wellness services will also be upgraded with an understanding of security. In the forefront is the quality of a staff, which offers and implements wellness services. It is important to ensure the minimal fluctuation in the staff of wellness centres, since knowledge of the guests, the security system and identifying suspicious individuals can do a great deal for the security of centres. Contract workers who work only at peak times, often students who do not know the guests, security devices and measures, make it difficult to contribute to a higher level of security. This
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Helena Cvikl, Janez Mekinc
Safety and security as systematic component of wellness .
is particularly important for owners, because of the competitive advantages offered by the high standard of security and of course, the quality of direct services. Nevertheless, high-quality wellness services that do not
provide personal and physical security for a guest nor protect their personal integrity will not be successful and will not be profitable.
Varnost kot sistemska komponenta centrov dobrega počutja v Sloveniji
Povzetek
V pričujoči študiji je predstavljen izčrpen in sistematičen pravni pregled vseh formalnih in tehničnih predpisov, ki se neposredno ali posredno nanašajo na varnostne standarde v centrih dobrega počutja v Sloveniji. Zaščito lahko opredelimo kot konkurečno prednost poslovnih dejavnosti, ki se ukvarjajo s posameznikovim dobrim počutjem. Poleg tega postaja vse pomembnejša ne le pri trženju podjetij, ki se ukvarjajo s posameznikovim dobrim počutjem, marveč tudi drugih turističnih storitev. Glede na specifično naravo ponudbe, povezane z dobrim počutjem, pojem zaščite obsega mnoge različne segmente. Mednje sodijo skrb za zdravje gostov, njihovo osebno varnost, varnost njihove lastnine in, kar je najpomembnejše, zaščito njihovih osebnih podatkov. Prav slednje omogoča gostu, da zaupa določenemu centru dobrega počutja, saj skrbno varovanje osebnih podatkov zagotavlja osebno varnost gostov.
Ključne besede: dobro počutje, varnost, osebna integriteta, kakovost, tehnični standardi References
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