Camille Hoheb of Wellness Tourism Worldwide Leads 2-Day Community-Wide Wellness Travel Summit in Colorado

More than 150 Estes Park business owners gathered at the Stanley Hotel in April for the Estes Park Wellness Summit to learn about the growing wellness tourism industry. Spurred by recent plans to build a $30 million state-of-the-art wellness complex, a joint project of the Estes Park Medical Center and Stanley Hotel owner Grand Heritage Hotel Group, the event was designed to increase local awareness of the opportunities presented by the multi-trillion-dollar travel sector. 

Elizabeth Fogarty, President & CEO,Visit Estes Park remarked, "Camille and her team have been integral in building enthusiasm for wellness tourism in our community. WTW helped to lead our Wellness Travel Summit steering committee, providing the clear advice and direction our group needed to succeed."

As the key speaker presenting the keynote “Wellness & Travel: Two Major Trends, One Hot Commodity” at a dinner function, I was then tasked to facilitate five industry-specific breakout sessions the following day. One of the common revelations during the  2 day event was that even though wellness travel is a relatively new tourism product, Estes Park currently has a lot to offer the wellness traveler and has been serving this type of guest for more than 100 years. 
                                
“The enthusiasm from the business community and representation from so many types of companies was exciting to see,” said Brian Herwig, Estes Park Medical Center CEO. 

54 Take-ways from the Keynote: Wellness & Travel: Two Major Trends, One Hot Commodity

1. Build the brand for Wellness in Estes Park
   
2. Concerned that we focus on what we are doing well
   
3. Several comments on the fact that Estes does a lot in wellness well; need to package it
   
4. Diversity of destination wellness types
   
5. Are we pursuing evidence based service lines?
   
6. Enthusiasm for a year round economy
   
7. Answered curiosity about the wellness tourism business
   
8. Coherent branding and focus need to be developed
   
9. Year round economy for Estes Park (several comments)
   
10. Yoga is a big player
    
11. Cooperation and collaboration around wellness tourism
    
12. Wellness is more than a spa
    
13. Opportunities for growth through wellness
    
14. We already have strengths as it goes to wellness
    
15. New identity:  wildlife, wonder, weddings and wellness
    
16. Use wellness tourism filter for things we are already doing
    
17. Wellness is broader than everyone knows
    
18. Energy and enthusiasm; starting point for conversations
    
19. Wellness is our future
    
20. Massiveness of wellness industry
    
21. Leave no stakeholder behind approach
    
22. Unified approach to wellness
    
23. Need cohesion
    
24. Development of destination product
    
25. Understood better what wellness is
    
26. Not elitist, can be family friendly
    
27. 150 people with no previous alignment on the topic, came back today with a much more cohesive approach, more questions to further develop concept
    
28. Sense of excitement – urge the community to do more, great enthusiasm, sense of inquiry, sense of new beginning
    
29. Not solely medical & spa related, tons of opportunities for those who look outside the box
    
30. How alive and well the wellness industry
    
31. It is well bigger than Estes Park, let the region know what’s coming
    
32. Refreshing to see the discussion start with sick care vs. healthcare we want
    
33. Enthusiasm, bringing together all 
    
34. Optimistic about the potential, of wellness traveler
    
35. A lot of wellness related opportunities
    
36. Great energy, challenge is to continue enthusiasm and get the work done
    
37. Excited to see the whole community to come together, year round economy potential
    
38. Wellness travel = year round economy
    
39. Modernization and expansion of the wellness roots of EP
    
40. Curiosity to learn more, lots of opportunities to pursue a year round economy
    
41. Community is starting to understand the umbrella brand concept beyond spa, diet, weight loss
    
42. Excited about the future of wellness
    
43. Looking forward to working on prevention
    
44. Adventure tourism is a big piece of the wellness tourism movement
    
45. What a great match our community & RMNP is a perfect fit with Wellness
    
46. Nurturing aspect of nature is important
    
47. Exciting what we offer, close to Denver but not too close
    
48. High energy and enthusiasm 
    
49. Interested in how all the pieces come together to expand the seasonality of our tourists
    
50. I’m already there, have a lot of ideas
    
51. Federal mandate to increase vacation time, healthy workforce & more productive
    
52. Everyone getting on board, impressed with the saturation around wellness
    
53. How many different things are touched by the wellness brand
    
54. Element of mental health – the zen aspect – something we need to work in
    

To facilitate engagement, business owners were asked to brainstorm on new opportunities and discuss what the community needs in order to truly become an internationally-recognized wellness destination.  

Remarked Frank D. Dumont, MD, FACP, Internal Medicine Physician, Medical Director, Estes Park Wellness Center “I appreciated all of the data on the health and wellness needs of Americans. Camille helped me better understand where the traditional western medicine model is not meeting those needs. Her facilitation of stakeholder group discussions brought to light many ideas and means for us to partner on delivery of what wellness travelers desire.”

"Camille presented the keynote and multiple breakout sessions for our stakeholders, tailoring her material to each market segment – providing detailed, relevant information for each session. From our experience working with Camille and WTW, our area tourism partners are excited about the possibilities that wellness tourism can bring to our destination and Estes Park is prepared to take the next steps" explained Elizabeth Fogarty.

About the Estes Park Wellness Initiative:
The Estes Park Medical Center’s new 19,000-square-foot Wellness Center, to be built in 2016, will be a hub for future Estes Park wellness travel offerings. The Wellness Center will provide health and lifestyle transformation retreats that engage guests in personalized programs based on their health goals, cutting-edge medical assessments and techniques proven effective through scientific research. Grand Heritage Hotel Group, owner and operator of The Stanley Hotel, will own and operate the five-star hospitality component physically connected to the Wellness Center to integrate lodging accommodations, spa services, food and beverage, and resort amenities. 

Thank you to the Event Sponsors:
The Wellness Summit was sponsored by the Estes Park Medical Center, Estes Park Economic Development Corporation, Visit Estes Park, Estes Valley Partners for Commerce, Estes Area Lodging Association and The Stanley Hotel. In addition to the sponsors, the Summit’s steering committee also included representatives from the Estes Park Wedding Association, Restaurant Partners, Rocky Mountain National Park, Estes Valley Recreation and Park District, and several independent business owners.

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