Well-Being Travel
Monday, September 20, 2010 at 11:52AM They call it "wellness tourism." A segment of the leisure travel market that has been seeing a steady increase in popularity over the past 10 years.
A recent study by SRI International, a research company specializing in leisure travel trends, confirmed and highlighted the following:
- 81% of consumers are "extremely" or "very interested" in improving their personal wellness;
- Exercising, eating better and visting a spa are the top three things consumers say they are most likely to do to improve their wellness;
- 71% of consumers would be more likley to visit spas if they learned that a series of research studies demonstrated treatments deliver measurable health benefits.
Whatever you call it, I'm not surprised by the data. I have long believed that a growning number of people are pursuing holistic, preventative and lifestyle-based services to improve their well-being, especially women. Looking and feeling great in every area of our lives has become a priority
As a cancer survivor my definiation of "wellness" doesn't conform neatly into Webster's little box. I see wellness as: 1) multi-dimensional and holistic, integrating physical, mental, spiritual and social approaches; and 2) complementary and proactive, not only treating illness, but more importantly, focused on preventing sickness and improving overall quality of life.
However you define wellness, or whether you find the term meaningful or not, the important message here is simply take care of yourself - body, mind, emotions and spirit - and treat yourself right.
The SRI study also noted that there are 289 million active wellness consumers in the world's top 30 industrialized nations, are you among them?
