Wellness Tourism: An Option for Your Organization?-Case for Chapters 17 and 5 Na

Question

Wellness Tourism: An Option for Your Organization?-Case for Chapters 17 and 5 Nancy H. Shanks manager of a Health and Wellness Center at Tippy Canoe University Medical Center (TCUMC), a facility that has been known regionally in the mid-west for its research and cutting-edge services in the fields of nutrition, in-patient weight loss programs, and other wellness efforts. She's having lunch with her colleague, Maggie, and they have been commiserating about the recent influx of many new and different types of entities providing these types of services on an outpatient basis. While they were once the only game in town and the region, it now seems like overnight there are many other players and to their astonishment they have lots of competition. Bill Jones, the CEO of TCUMC, is out of town and attending the annual Congress of the American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE). As he has listened to a number of presentations on the many changes that are taking place in the health care industry across he has become concerned. The recent trends in medical and wellness tourismm have caught his attention. After ignoring the many changes that several futurists have been predicting for a couple of years, he has come to the realization that other organizations and institutions around the country have already begun capitalizing on many new opportunities by developing innovative programs in promoting health and wellness, that his organization is a bit behind the curve, and that TCUMC needs to hustle to not be left the country, While enjoying the end of their lunch break, Annie's cellphone beeps, indicating that rom Bill. Uh-oh! Something must be up because Bill has never texted before and hasn't paid much attention to the Health and Wellness Center in the in the dust. It's clear to Bill that his boat is being rocked. she has a text message f past. Annie reads the message al I o Maggie. Think we've had our heads in the sand!! Need to urgently begin investigating medical and wellness tourism asap. Can you and your staff pull some information about what's going on in these areas, as well as put your heads together and come up with ideas about how we can 586

Explanation / Answer

1.Wellness tourism puts your health and well-being at the very center of your travel experience! Trips organized around the principle of wellness tourism should include healthy food, exercise, spa treatments, and opportunities to experience or expand your spirituality and creativity. You learn how to better care for yourself, physically, psychologically and spiritually.

The concept of wellness tourism dramatically broadens the appeal of medical tourism, which is associated with plastic surgery, but also means dentistry, knee replacements, and other medical procedures. Many global consumers opt for these journeys because another country offers significantly lower costs or greater procedure/treatment availability.

Three groups of wellness tourists emerged based on different benefits they sought from their wellness tourism experiences. These groups were named beauty spa visitors, lifestyle resort visitors and spiritual retreat visitors. It should be noted that benefits were not the only variable based on which differences between those three groups emerged. The benefits that were emphasised by each group of wellness tourists were:

- Beauty Spa Visitors either exclusively or predominantly discussed the benefits of ‘Body Maintenance & Appearance’, ‘Pampering & Indulgence’, ‘Reinforcing Relationships’, ‘Self-Esteem’, ‘Relaxation’ and ‘Stress Release’.

- Lifestyle Resort Visitors either exclusively or predominantly focused on the benefits of ‘Contemplation & Mindful Thinking’, ‘Getting Healthier’, ‘Healing & Recovering’ as well as the benefits related to specific health behaviours such as ‘Detox’, ‘Exercise & Fitness’, ‘Sleep Management’ and ‘Weight Management & Diet’.

- Spiritual Retreat Visitors predominantly emphasised the benefits of ‘Escape from Way of Life’, ‘Peace & Tranquility’, ‘Self-Realisation & Self-Awareness’ and ‘Spiritual Progress’.

2.From an American perspective, if an American visits Germany, that is considered to be outbound tourism, but if a German visits the United States, that is considered to be inbound tourism.

Inbound and outbound tourism have an important impact on a country's financial health. When a country attracts a lot of inbound tourism, the tourists spend money on souvenirs, hotels, dining and other amenities. This creates jobs, and through consumption taxes, it adds additional money to that country's coffers.

Outbound tourism generates some money in the country of origin – outbound tourists buy things such as travel insurance, plane tickets and new travel clothing from their home country. However, ultimately, outbound tourism takes financial resources out of the home country and gives them to the destination country.

Intrabound tourism is a term coined by the Korea Tourism Organization and widely accepted in Korea. Intrabound tourism differs from domestic tourism in that the former encompasses policymaking and implementation of national tourism policies.TCUMC should be focussing on intrabund medical tourism .

3.Intrabound medical tourism is impacted by globalisation of healthcare. Factors that drive the growth of the intrabound medical tourism sector depend upon aspects such as affordability, technology, need and change. Medical treatments come at a higher price and those patients who cannot afford such high prices opt to travel to regions within the country where the medication is affordable. There are government hospitals that provide improved medication to poor people for free. Also, people who can afford to spend on high medication, travel to big cities where medication costs are high but results are quicker. Patients also travel to other cities in case of unavailability of space and technology. In case of urgency it is easier for people to travel outside their current city and get the medication in case of non-availability.

Developments in technology have furthered the speed and quality of medications. The emergency needs of patients can trigger finding different options for medication in case of unavailability in their region. This facilitates travel from one place to another within the country. Change in environment and better medication can help patients mentally as well as physically and they can recover at a faster rate. Also, there is high competition for inbound tourism and hence intrabound tourism is promoted on a larger scale.

4.

Americans spend $30.2 billion out-of-pocket on complementary health approaches annually, a substantial percentage of the $328.8 billion spent in total out-of-pocket health care expenditures, a new study says.

The study, released by the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), used data collected by the 2012 National Health Interview Survey that were then weighted to produce estimates representative of the entire U.S. population.

Researchers estimated that one in five Americans aged 4 years and over spent money on at least one type of complementary health approach, which could include massage therapy, tai chi, chiropractic manipulation, homeopathic treatment, hypnosis and energy healing therapy.

While these costs only equate to about 1% of total health care spending in the U.S., they are comparable to expenditures for conventional physician visits and prescription drug use.

Americans were more likely to have spent money on natural product supplements—such as acai pills, digestive enzymes, fish oil and probiotics—than on visits to complementary approach practitioners or self-care approaches.

The study found that in 2012, the $12.8 billion spent out-of-pocket on natural product supplements alone is equal to about 24% the amount spent on prescription drug use in the same year ($54 billion).

Most health insurance doesn’t cover the costs of supplements or visits to complimentary practitioners—which could be $100 or more—so families with higher incomes tend to use this type of healthcare more frequently, the researchers concluded.

Chief of infectious disease at Children’s Hospital Philadelphia Paul Offit thinks Americans are willing to spend billions on alternative healthcare because they see a tremendous value in the industry, which he says is loosely regulated for safety and efficacy.

“You are putting a lot of faith in something you shouldn’t have much faith in,” he said. “They don’t have to test for safety and usefulness as long as they don’t make a serious medical claim.”

Though labels on concentrated garlic may claim to support heart health, for example, they cannot claim to treat or mitigate heart disease.

Dietary supplements can be marketed without any review or approval by the FDA, unlike prescription or over-the-counter drugs, according to the National Institute of Health website.

A new study presented at the inaugural Global Wellness Tourism Congress (GWTC) found wellness tourism is a near half-trillion dollar market, representing 14 percent of total global tourism revenues ($3.2 trillion1) overall. According to The Global Wellness Tourism Economy report, the category is projected to grow on average 9.9 percent annually over the next five years, nearly twice the rate of global tourism overall, reaching $678.5 billion by 2017, or 16 percent of total tourism revenues.

The study also noted over one-half of growth in wellness tourism through 2017 will come from the Asian, Latin American and Middle Eastern/North African markets, and India will be number one globally over the next five years, clocking a 20 percent-plus growth through 2017. And wellness tourists are higher spenders, on average, spending 130 percent more than the average global tourist.

The study was conducted by SRI International, in conjunction with the Global Spa & Wellness Summit (GSWS), the industry's leading education and research organization, which presented the GWTC in New Delhi, India. The study is the first to benchmark and analyze this fast-emerging tourism segment and, according to SRI, is expected to be eye-opening for governments and tourism industry stakeholders worldwide.

5.a)As a world-leading travel & lifestyle group, AccorHotels takes a forward-thinking approach to wellbeing. Across the company’s portfolio of luxury brands and their 300+ spa facilities worldwide, this commitment to redefine the sector is brought to life through innovation, customized wellness strategies and the creation of meaningful, personalized experiences. The trend-setting Vitality Room at Swissôtel, Sofitel’s rejuvenating So Spa and So Fit concepts, and Fairmont’s personalized workout and apparel offering, Fairmont Fit, are but a few examples of recent luxury wellness initiatives across the AccorHotels network.  

b)Opened in 2012, The Art of Living Retreat Center is the newest outgrowth of the Art of Living Foundation’s 30+ year global commitment to health, happiness and Ayurveda. Nestled in North Carolina’s Blue Ridge Mountains, the center offers immersive wellness experiences inspired by authentic traditions of yoga and Ayurveda. From signature workshops in the life-transforming power of breath and meditation to cleanses that have been practiced for thousands of years, the experiences at the center and its Shankara Ayurveda Spa provide timeless tools that help guests tap into their potential for lasting health and happiness.

c) Canyon Ranch has been a pioneer and an industry-leading proponent of the wellness lifestyle for nearly 40 years, operating the world's most celebrated collection of life-enhancement properties. Canyon Ranch has wellness destinations in Tucson, Ariz. and Lenox, Mass. In addition, the brand operates a Canyon Ranch wellness and spa complex at The Venetian® & The Palazzo® hotels in Las Vegas, Nev., as well as Canyon Ranch at Sea onboard Cunard's Queen Mary 2® luxury ocean liner, Oceania® and Regent Seven Seas Cruises®, and on Celebrity Cruises®.

6Hotels are also offering a variety of unique spa offerings and even spa-inspired bathrooms with rain showers to ensure their guests feel rejuvenated. At Aiana, the boutique spa concept artfully blends ancient Ayurvedic techniques and modern cosmetology.

Research has found that the value of wellness trips across MENA reached US$7.3 billion in 2014, with health-focused tourists spending 130 per cent more than regular travellers. Wellness tourism accounts for nearly 1 in every 6 tourist dodollar spent worldwide (Global Wellness Institute, October 2016). This trend is expected to further continue, with wellness tourism outpacing overall global tourism growth that is forecasted at 9 per cent over the next two years by 50 per cent.

7.The trend towards wellness is relevant across age groups, with hotels designing on-site itineraries to cater to activity based programs for multi-generation families travelling together on leisure. Aiana Munnar offers planned spice trails so that families can explore the neighboring hills while learning about spices, enjoying the outdoors and spending quality bonding time together.

As the trends towards curated holidays that have been developed by wellness experts increases in popularithotels will have to get more creative in the way they craft the experience to include cultural immersion, local flavor (ugly fruit, anyone?) and feel-good factors that could also include volunteering for community service.

Wellness is no longer about fad-diets and exercise routines. The traveller of today is looking at enhancing their overall wellbeing and not willing to change their lifestyles and commitment to health and wellness even when on the road! Hotel brands are tying up with sports brands like Reebok to rent everything from workout clothes to socks and shoes so that you had no excuse to skip a training session. Several hotels are now looking as custom-made fitness accessories that fit in the closet and are available at no extra charge. At Aiana hotels, this includes the Ai-fit kit with complimentary yoga mat and videos on demand so one can find their Om moment in the peace and quiet of their own rooms!

8.Maintaining a wellness routine while on the road is fast becoming a top priority for travellers. As a result, hotels are focusing on wellness offerings,be it through quirky food offerings (think menus that suit your mood, allergies and blood group), fitness accessories or innovative amenities that aim to help guests stay fit even when on a business trip or on vacation.

Hotel brands are tying up with sports brands like Reebok to rent everything from workout clothes to socks and shoes sothat you had no excuse to skip a training session. Several hotels are now looking as custom-made fitness accessories that fit in the closet and are available at no extra charge. At Aiana hotels, this includes the Ai-fit kit with complimentary yoga mat and videos on demand so one can find their Om moment in the peace and quiet of their own rooms!

Focus on wellness is also influencing hotel design. While the bars have moved to the lobby converting lobbies into a hot-bed of activities, fitactivities, fitness centers have moved out of the basement to podiums and rooftops in order to ensure natural light and outdoor options. The belief that wellness goes beyond the gym is affecting the way rooms are designed as well as in-room amenities.

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