In reading a recent article on wellness tourism, it was surprising to see that "Avoiding Wellness" was one the top recommendations for developing the wellness travel industry. What? Take the word "wellness" out of wellness tourism ? Seek to understand rather than to be understood. Apparently the small group of participants, mostly Europeans, who met to discuss wellness tourism didn’t identify with the word “wellness” as strongly as their counterparts on the other side of the Atlantic. It is understandable there are language and cultural differences. The article explained, "To determine how the travel industry can best facilitate that growth, GWTC recently held its first of three roundtables with tourism leaders from government and industry, who discussed how to better educate consumers, tourism bodies, governments, tour operators and travel agents about the benefits of wellness travel."[1] Wouldn't it make sense and be more responsible to involve consumers, tour operators, travel agents and many others in conversations before recommendations are given that affect this emerging speciality niche industry and its future? Wellness travel can positively impact both economic growth and population health. Here’s a perfect opportunity to educate the world on wellness rather than shy away from it. How can everyone understand wellness tourism if suddenly the term is negated from our lexicon just as it is being understood and is gaining momentum? Who were the tourism leaders from government and industry and what's their expertise in wellness or wellness tourism? It was a bit eye opening to see that one of the participants had their assistant download information from our website and then request more information in order to prepare for the roundtable. The article continued, “… they agreed that the industry should avoid preaching (Isn’t this just common sense rather than a revelation?) and should do a better job of communicating wellness travel’s affordability and accessibility.”[2] (Read WTW’s mission and vision on our homepage where we have been saying this for years and its built into our Vision statement.) The same outfit that organized this meeting asked if the word "spa" should be changed in order for the spa industry to grow last year. The wellness sector does not share in this identity crisis. From my perspective, keep the word “spa” for the health and sustainability of the world’s 2,000 year-old spa industry, which is rich in culture and history. Don’t be afraid to use the word wellness, especially since consumers are keenly interested their well-being and are flocking towards wellness versus running away from it. Gone are the days when wellness was thought of as a chore. Stigmatizing its use and telling others not to use the word “wellness” does not move the ball forward. Wellness is fun! It involves all sorts of amazing experiences leisure and social activities - being outside in nature, intellectual stimulation, creation, sharing, discovery, and engagement. Do not be afraid to use wellness in wellness travel. It is what it is. Simply that. [1] Retrieved from: http://www.successfulmeetings.com/Conference-News/Research-White-Papers/Articles/Group-Develops-Strategies-for-Increasing-Wellness-Tourism/ [2] Retrieved from: http://www.successfulmeetings.com/Conference-News/Research-White-Papers/Articles/Group-Develops-Strategies-for-Increasing-Wellness-Tourism/
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There’s an undeniable gap between the lack of vacation time among Americans and the need to have time off to de-stress, reconnect and have better quality of life. Wellness Tourism Worldwide has been reporting and speaking on the subject since our inception. Fortunately, wellness travel and tourism is a catalyst for bringing vacation deprivation and the need for better nurturing of mind, body and spirit through meaningful vacations to light. A few trends and stats from Wellness Tourism Worldwide shows how wellness travel is changing the way Americans perceive vacation travel and how the travel and hospitality industries have changed the way they do business
In 2011 and 2012, it was clear that no new consumer-oriented research was being conducted on the value and benefits of vacations in the United States and given tourism numbers were down substantially, I realized it was topic worth dedicated research. It seemed too much emphasis, effort and investment was being dedicated to international inbound tourism to the US and there was no or very little effort to increase domestic tourism within our own country. Between 2012 and 2013, Wellness Tourism Worldwide conducted an extensive survey to sound out the vacationing U.S. public and publish data to give U.S. consumers a voice. Travel professionals were also invited to participate in the survey, so that both side of the buyer/seller relationship were represented. The results were a data-driven profile of consumers that the Wellness Travel industry can use published in U.S Vacationers Report, which is available for purchase here. We knew we were on to something big when the U.S. Travel Association launched their Travel Effect campaign a few months before. Vacations are not just for the affluent, and travel, especially wellness travel, could really be a game changer to population health and to the economy if it is developed and promoted in ways that benefits as many people and businesses. WTW has enjoyed tremendous success and positive feedback on all of our research and educational products. If you are interested in more information please click on the links below. Certification for Wellness Travel Professionals The Guide to Selling Wellness Travel U.S. Vacationer: Health, Happiness & Productivity Top 10 Wellness Travel Trends of 2014 Top 10 Wellness Travel Trends of 2013 Workshops, Presentations & Keynotes I feel very fortunate to be a part of the shaping, development and promotion wellness travel industry. Thanks for reading my blog and feel free to drop me a line and send your observations and comments by using the contact page. Wishing you much happiness, health & success, Camille Hoheb Founder, Wellness Tourism Worldwide Sources: [1] Wellness Tourism Worldwide, (2013) U.S. Vacationers: Health, Happiness & Productivity – The Essential Report for Travel, Hospitality & Wellness Industries [2] Wellness Tourism Worldwide, (2013) U.S. Vacationers: Health, Happiness & Productivity – The Essential Report for Travel, Hospitality & Wellness Industries [3] Wellness Tourism Worldwide (2014) Top 10 Wellness Travel Trends of 2014 [4] Wellness Tourism Worldwide (2013) Top 10 Wellness Travel Trends of 2013 [5] Wellness Tourism Worldwide (2013) Top 10 Wellness Travel Trends of 2013 [6] Wellness Tourism Worldwide, (2013) U.S. Vacationers: Health, Happiness & Productivity – The Essential Report for Travel, Hospitality & Wellness Industries In today's ISPA SmartBrief, the following article summary from Spa Opportunities highlighted Vidago Palace, Pedras Salgadas and their parent company, Unicer. Below is a reprint of the SmartBrief summary but I've also reposted one of my blog posts from 2011. Unicer's spas take advantage of naturally luxurious healing springs Portuguese beer company Unicer, which also owns the Pedras Salgadas mineral water brand, is opening two spas in northern Portugal. The spas are situated near the natural thermal springs from which Unicer draws its mineral water. The Vidago Palace spa and the Pedras Salgadas Spa and Nature Park were both designed by architect Alvaro Siza Vieira and feature treatments that make the most of the healing properties of the thermal springs and products from Aromatherapy Associates and Vichy. SpaOpportunities.com (4/1) A Perfect Day in Portugal: Hosted by Unicer, the Portuguese Spa Association and Termatalia.October 20th, 2011 I have to say, its nice to have friends in high places. Thanks to Joao Pinto Barbosa, President of the Portugese Spa Association, I had a fantastic day trip that he coordinated with his friends, Manual Atunes da Silva, Director at Unicer and Patricia Bandiera, Publisher & Partner of Estetica Viva magazine. We started in Ourense, Spain and drove in the morning to Northern Portugal’s wine country and landed at Vidago Palace, and on Conde Nast’s “Hot List” in May 2011. The property is spectacular! historic! grande! and if you are a history lover, lover of fine things. lover of aesthetics – this is the place for you! Lucky for Patricia and me that Manual is the Director of Mineral Water with Unicer, the parent company of Vidago Palace. We received a great insider tour of the water source, a private mineral water tasting, a bit of walking tour, and the new spa building designed by a notable contemporary architect – whose design is in stark contrast in its sleek lines and modern approach to the gilded finery and colorful historic design elements found throughout the palace.. New spa director, Maria, who had been onboard for 3 weeks was very accommodating and gave Patricia and I tour and we were each enjoyed a spa treatment! After we had a lovely Mediterranean lunch and we resumed our private tour with Manual on the golf course. Honestly, golf holds no interest to me but knowing this plays an important role to the property, I dutifully was prepared to learn about the course. I was pleasantly surprised as we rode golf carts around the property with much laugher and frivolity and it could not have been more fun! Then on to tour Pedras Selgadas where there was another Unicer property catering more to leisure travelers (where as Vidago is for the luxury traveler). Patricia and I headed over to the lovely garden area where there was a snack shop servicing – you guessed it – Super Bock! (Unicer’s main seller). It was a perfect day in Portugal and sadly it came to and end as all good thing too. However the memory will last a lifetime. A Year in Retrospect at Wellness Tourism Worldwide:
Looking back it's been quite a ride over the last 12 months. I hadn't thought about it until Rosemary McCormick, President of the Shop America Alliance emailed me a quick note, "Wow, you've been busy! Great work!" Well, the truth be told, I couldn't have done it without the support from family, friends, colleagues, clients and everyone who has ever written in, requested a download, bought a report, invited me to speak, participate in a FAM trip, visit a destination, write an article, give an interview or just add my two cents. Having others excited about wellness + travel inspires me. Here are a few of our highlights from 2013:
8/27/2013 0 Comments WTW Celebrates the Release of "The Guide to Selling Wellness Travel" at the "Amazing Thailand, Amazing Well-being Seminar" Sponsored by the Tourism Authority of Thailand.The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) Los Angeles Office, hosted the Amazing Thailand, Amazing Well-being Seminar on August 27, 2013 at the Sofitel Hotel in Beverly Hills. Camille Hoheb, Founder of Wellness Tourism Worldwide, was pleased to provide an introduction to the inaugural release of "The Guide to Selling Wellness Travel." TAT Los Angeles Office introduced medical and wellness tourism to a wide variety of travel sellers including medical tourism facilitators, travel agent generalists and wellness travel specialists. Thailand is a world class Medical & Wellness destination. This seminar will raise awareness about the quality of the products and services that Thailand has to offer. To purchase your copy, please click here. |
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