The impact of cooperation on the innovation performance of spa tourism in European destinations

The article focuses on examining the relationships between various forms of cooperation among spa enterprises and their different areas of innovation performance, as well as their connections to different types of innovations. The study is based on available literature and expert surveys conducted in the field of spa tourism in Slovakia and Spain – countries with distinct spa financing systems. The cooperation of spa enterprises has a differentiated impact on their innovation performance, with a high degree of dispersion in correlation coefficients when analysing individual variables. However, the examined relationships confirm the assertions about the positive link between cooperation and innovation, as stated in the relevant literature. This holds true despite the fact that most of the examined links were not found to be strong. The higher observed relationships between cooperation and innovation performance, as well as stronger connections between specific forms of partnerships in Spain, may imply a slightly higher level of innovation ecosystems in that country, along with greater pressure for innovation and utilisation of collaborative potential. Based on these findings, it can be concluded that cooperation is an integral part of the innovation ecosystem and should be considered when designing innovation policies at national and regional levels.