Wellness
travel is booming as Indian hotels are enhancing their products with unique
experiences in Yoga, meditation and Ayurveda,now becoming a way of life for
people in a report by Irene Susan Eapen.
Wellness
Tourism is one of the fastest growing concept in hotels in India with Yoga and
Ayurveda. With the urban lifestyle being hectic wellness is now a way of living
for health conscious people. India has recently been projected to be the
fastest growing nation in the wellness tourism sector within the next five
years, clocking over 20% gains annually through 2017, according to a study
conducted by SRI International.
The
Wellness Tourism segment is estimated to grow nearly 50 per cent faster than
global tourism by 2017, and a significant contribution to this will come from
Asia, stated a recent study. India is the world’s fastest growing destination
for Wellness Tourism, with projected growth of 22% per year, according to a
2013 study by the Global Wellness Institute. India will be a prime destination
for wellness tourism in a span of few years.
Wellness Tourism
Shobhit
Sawhney, General Manager, Park Hyatt Goa Resort and Spa states,” Wellness
tourism has grown manifold in the last decade with tourism boards supporting
and promoting this. In Goa specially, this has grown tremendously and has
become a niche offering with tourists visiting Goa from all over the world for
now only the beaches and sports but also for wellness and rejuvenation. With
the advent of unique experiences and offerings, this is a fast growing
segment.”
In the
opinion of Imit Arora, General Manager,The Lalit Chandigarh,"India is one
of the world’s true wellness Meccas and an ideal place to explore its ancient
roots as they have yoga, meditation and Ayurveda. In recent years, wellness travel
to India has exploded."
Nishant
Agarwal, General Manager, The Westin Pune Koregaon Park observes,” Spiritual,
rejuvenation and wellness tourism are the one of the prime factors of domestic
tourism in India.”
Anand
Nair, General Manager, Vasundhara Sarovar Premiere, Kerala – Vayalar
explains,"Spa culture is growing steadily in India over the past few
years. The spa experience has become more accessible than ever before and we
see more of health conscious travelers are utilizing the Spa. With India’s strong
background in Ayurveda and Yoga, we have been receiving increased attention
from foreign travelers for wellness treatments.”
"India’s
Spa industry is witnessing an increase in demand for indigenous Spa facilities
which have modern luxurious design and a combination of western and traditional
therapies. The popularity of spa facilities in hotels and resorts has exploded
in recent years, “he added.
"Wellness
tourism in India has various components like- Health spas, Ayurveda Treatments,
Yoga & Meditation Retreats, Naturopathy Centers, Unani/ Siddha Treatments
options and medical tourism. The Ministry of AYUSH, GOI is pro-actively
contributing in promoting wellness in India, “says, Mahima Sharma, Director of
Spa, Spa by JW, JW Marriott Mumbai Sahar.
"As
international travel becomes cheaper and infrastructure becomes better, India
offers cheaper treatment options as a wellness destination and is poised to be
one of the top destinations in the world.
The
wellness and medical tourism in India was projected in the range of Rs8000 Cr.
– 13000 Cr by the year 2013.SRI International has projected India gaining by
205 annually and becoming the top wellness tourism destination in next five
years,” she added.
“An
estimated 21 million trips are made per year, generating $4.7b in revenue. At
present, the vast majority of travellers are domestic, accounting for 20
million visits,” says, Nikhil Kapur, Founder & Director, Atmantan Wellness
Center.
“The
Atmantan Master Cleanse is a synergistic formula of resetting the organs and
systems of the body through cellular cleansing and toxin elimination which
meticulously assists the body in ridding of emotional and hormonal imbalance,
you will discover that this cleansing ritual will not just facilitate the
cleansing of your emotional knots and unclutter the mind, but will also lead
you to benefits of improved sleep, increased immunity and permit your body to
self-heal. The Taoist Chi Nei Tsang treatment is also known as the benchmark
for detoxification worldwide, “he added.
Marketing and promotional plans
Shobit
says "We have recently introduced Wellness at the Park which are
thoughtfully curated stay experiences revolving around wellness needs –
rejuvenation, ant stress and weight management."
Anand
explains, "In this highly competitive Spa Industry, proper strategy for
marketing and promotion is vital. We are now focusing more on Digital Marketing
as those will help us to reach out to a large volume of consumers. We have been
prominent in trade fairs like ITB, Berlin which is a huge source market for
Wellness programs in addition to maintaining relations with Agents who
specialize in promoting Spa & Wellness packages.
Mahima
states "The Ministry of AYUSH gave a big boost to the wellness sector with
recently celebrated International Yoga Day. The wellness businesses target both
urban Indian and Foreigners for year around business."
Expected growth for 2016
Shobhit
says,"We are looking at a positive incremental trend in 2016 and ahead
owing to the increase in awareness among people both in India and overseas
towards wellness as a way of living and not just a short term investment."
"In
order to provide dedicated institutional framework to take forward the cause of
promotion of Medical Tourism, Wellness Tourism and Yoga, Ayurveda Tourism and
any other format of Indian system of medicine covered by Ayurveda, Yoga, Unani,
Siddha and Homeopathy (AYUSH), a National Medical and Wellness Tourism Board
has been constituted. Therefore we look forward to the wellness industry
growing well. Wellness or preventive healthcare nowadays is the attracting
factor for both domestic people and foreigners,” Nishant added.
Anand
states, “The growth story for 2016 is projected to be steady. The Arab market
has opened up as a major source market for Wellness & Medical tourism. This
segment is expected to perform very well for 2016. The traditional markets have
been stagnating for some time and renewed vigor in marketing initiatives
undertaken by the Tourism Department could assist in increasing the numbers
from them."
Trends in Wellness
"The
guests opt for healthy options and prefer smaller hearty meals rather than
large traditional meals. There is an increased awareness towards the importance
of simple Indian food as a path to wellness of mind and body." Shobhit
says.
Imit
stated “As more people embrace an overall healthier lifestyle at home, we are
now seeing these behaviours translate and integrate into their travel and
vacation habits. For others, vacation provides an escape from the tedious daily
lifestyle. As these two trends converge, we are seeing many people commit their
vacation time and money to wellness travel, as it is evident by their increased
spending and specific global destination choices."
"We
see that in recent past a lot of guests are keen to explore the Spa facilities.
The Spaholics is gaining lot of popularity as people are now more conscious
about wellness. We have noticed that majority of our guests look for healthy
eating options across all our outlets,” he added.
In the
opinion of Nishant, "Power Yoga and some natural therapies still hold good
ground in terms of getting patients in India. In 2014, about 20 per cent of the
230,000 foreigners who visited India as medical tourists were reported to have
visited yoga or wellness centres. India also gets many business travellers from
who undergo day-care procedures as well as wellness procedures."
Anand
observes" There is a growing interest in wellness and rejuvenation, the
travelers are ready to compromise in all aspects, whether in the matter of food
or the duration of various treatments. Since the organic food products are
getting high demand among the wellness diet plans. Many resorts specializing in
Ayurveda have their own organic farms to meet these requirements. Customized
diets are served in the restaurants, in order to satisfy the guests who want to
focus on the goals such as weight loss, detox. The most important change we
noticed is that Yoga and meditation has become a part of the daily routine for
all the wellness enthusiasts."
Nikhil
says “Considering the fast growing trend of lifestyle diseases in India due to
urbanization, it is highly crucial for Indians to modify their lifestyle and
adopt the doctrines of our ancient medical knowledge. Most of the lifestyle
diseases that are prevalent in the society can be reversed or managed by taking
time to understand one’s personality trait and practice a more disciplined
living. Ayurveda, Naturopathy and Yoga believe in various principles of
positive living. This is also one of the reasons why the Indian System of
Medicine has got so much popularity these days.”
“Indians
have been realizing more and more on the importance of drug less systems in
reversing the disease processes. Yoga has been globally recognized as a supreme
body-mind-spirit practice. The awareness of these is fast growing in India.
Most common lifestyle disorders such as cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, and
other metabolic syndromes are very well managed by practicing healthy eating,”
Nikhil says.
"The
wellness patterns definitely show an inclination toward detox regimes, stress
management, weight management and fitness,” Mahima added.
India a wellness destination
Shobhit
says, "With the increase in wellness offerings across the country and the
rising awareness amongst people to embrace wellness as a way of life, this is
definitely a good sign for the country and we must use it well to showcase
Ayurveda a lovely legacy of our ancestors."
"India
has great potential in wellness tourism in the world. Several factors such as
low costs, scale and range of treatments differentiate it from other medical
tourism destinations." Imit added.
Anand
states, "India will continue to be a hot spot for medical tourists who
seek travel services that incorporate diverse wellness packages, including
those that couple medical procedures with spa indulgences, Ayurveda treatments
or cultural immersion experiences. With the advent of high-end multi-specialty
hospitals and dramatically improved healthcare facilities, this segment is sure
to show tremendous growth. Marketing campaigns focused on Wellness Tourism and
its benefits in source markets across the world would help position India as a
leading player in this segment and attract more curiosity from prospective
clients."
Mahima
explains, "Being the spiritual leader of the world and the land of
Ayurveda India is already a wellness destination. Policy framework to
standardize and infrastructure will help consolidate this position
further."
In the
opinion of Anand, “The government should project India in international trade
shows as a wellness destination and support the major players in the industry.
The present taxation structure in wellness segment has to be revised and should
eliminate the unfair tax elements implied like service taxes etc. The Visa
procedure has to be made liberal so that we can get more International
Travelers.”
"Wellness
tourism has a holistic approach. The human society is getting excessively
stressed, caused by lifestyle or professional pressure. One does not
necessarily have to be a patient suffering from any particular disease to
become a customer of wellness tourism. So, the scope and opportunity of
wellness tourism is much larger than the other,”Nishant concludes.
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