Bearing in mind the high growth rates of spa and wellness tourism on a global level, the quantity and quality of competitive bidding has continuous growth, and in these conditions it is extremely difficult for everyone to get adequate market position. Since Serbia, despite the extremely favorable natural resources for the development of spa tourism, is still among the underdeveloped destinations, of particular importance for the future improvement of this type of tourism and positioning of spas as a tourist destination on the international tourist market is the transformation of the traditional spas in modern spa centers and wellness tourism. The main aim of the research part of this thesis is to set up a relevant scientific basis for interpretation of the transformation process of traditional spas Serbia into modern centers spa and wellness tourism; this basis must be applicable, relevant and supported by adequate theoretical framework. The task of this research was to identify the problems of development of tourism in Serbian spas, on the one hand through the analysis of the motivation of tourists who visit spas, and on the other by analyzing attributes of attractiveness spas. This thesis aims to develop a model that would encompass all the factors that influence the decision-making process of tourists when it comes to choosing the spa as a place to rest. Previous studies either included only motivation (push and pull motives) or constraints, while this study presents an integrated model that includes all three factors. Understanding and adapting to the motivation and behavior of tourists is the only way to be competitive at the spa tourism market. The survey was conducted on samples of several tourists in spas in Serbia. Analysis of all the factors that influence the decision-making process on the selection of spas as tourist destinations in Serbia was carried out with the help of Analytical - Hierarchy Process (AHP method). Imajući u vidu visoke stope rasta spa i wellness turizma na globalnom nivou, kvantitet i kvalitet konkurentskih ponuda beleži kontinuirani rast, te je u takvim uslovima vrlo zahtevan zadatak izboriti se za adekvatnu poziciju na tržištu. Budući da se Srbija, uprkos izuzetno povoljnim prirodnim resursima za razvoj banjskog turizma, još uvek ubraja u nedovoljno razvijene destinacije, od posebnog značaja za buduće unapređenje ovog vida turizma i pozicioniranje banja kao turističkih destinacija na međunarodnom turističkom tržištu, jeste upravo njihova transformacija od tradicionalnih lečilišta u moderne centre spa i wellness turizma. Osnovni cilj istraživanja u okviru ove disertacije je postavljanje naučno relevantnih osnova tumačenja procesa transformacije tradicionalnih banja Srbije u savremene centre spa i wellness turizma, koje će biti aplikativno prihvatljive i potkrepljene adekvatnim teorijskim okvirom. Zadaci istraživanja odnosili su se na razradu problematike turizma u banjama Srbije, s jedne strane analizom motivacije turista koji posećuju banje, a sa druge analizom atributa atraktivnosti banja. U disertaciji se pokušao razviti model koji bi obuhvatio sve faktore koji utiču na proces donošenja odluke turista kada je reč o izboru banje kao mesta za odmor. Dosadašnje studije ili su obuhvatale samo motivaciju (push i pull motive) ili samo ograničenja, dok je u ovoj studiji predstavljen integralan model koji uključuje sva tri faktora. Razumevanje i prilagođavanje motivaciji i ponašanju turista je jedini način da banje budu konkurentne na turističkom tržištu. Anketno istraživanje sprovedeno je na uzorcima turista u više banja u Srbiji. Analiza svih faktora koji utiču na proces donošenja odluke o izboru banja kao turističkih destinacija u Srbiji urađena je uz pomoć analitičko - hijerarhijskog procesa (AHP metod).