Outlook and trends for travel industry in health and wellness

Outlook and Trends for Travel Industry in Health and Wellness
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Outlook and Trends for Travel Industry in Health and Wellness
In the contemporary era, the travel industry is transforming with every passing day. Latest attitudes and inclinations related to health and wellness are indulging into it, which are making the tourism experience of tourists memorable. Several key trends of this kind are prevailing in the travel industry which is discussed below:
Meditation Retreat
The meditation retreat is another popular trend in the travel industry. People pay a lot for different types of meditation retreat packages.
Pros and Repercussions
Independent talked about research conducted at the University of Arizona. A computer scientist and a neuroscientist Schlanger (2015) conducted the experiment in which 45 human resource managers were observed and divided into three groups. The first group was given a mindfulness-based meditation coaching for about eight weeks. The second group was given body relaxation training for about eight weeks, while the third group was not trained at all. The results showed that the first group who had mindful meditation training was able to keep its focus for an extended period of time on a constant point as compared other two groups. In other words, the experiment concluded that mindful meditation is beneficial for people. In the same news article, Davidson, R. has been quoted who called meditation the “rewiring the brain” (Schlanger, 2015).

People are becoming aware of benefits associated with meditation retreats and are willing to spend money on this instead of any regular vacations. It is beneficial in several ways as people are becoming more health conscious and linking travel to their wellness. Since they are getting beneficial results, so they are more likely to adopt it because of the “word of mouth.” Eventually, the increasing trend will lead the industry to flourish and make people more demanding for the innovations. However, it is also possible that it will have a neutral impact on the travel industry because the invention of newest techniques of mental and physical retreats for wellness and health are being indulged in various travel programs. People who previously used to go to Switzerland, Hawaii or Mauritius are shifting their choices to a meditation retreat, etc. Therefore, by the end of the day, no significant impact is on the travel industry because one way or another, people are still traveling. However, a negative impact is when people are shifting from unhealthy ways of spending their money to healthy habits.
Cons and Repercussions
It is most commonly said that meditation has a positive impact on the health and wellness of people. However, it is possible that one has negative effects on his or her personality. A research was done on 60 meditation loving people in the United States of America. It has been reported that they had challenging experiences amid their meditation. Notably, meditation is a technique in Buddhism which is connected to spiritual context while these people who do it for health and wellness purpose find it challenging to do it for a long time without any religious aspect. It can lead them to in-depth thoughts and darker sides of their personality which becomes difficult for them to handle without a proper guideline or spiritual instinct. The negative consequences include depression, suicidal thoughts, and other psychological issues (U.S. National Library of Medicine, 2017). Therefore, this trend’s negative impacts should also be focused in detail.
The cons of this trend do not have any significant decrease in the effects on the travel industry. The reason is that it is a new trend in the industry and people are adopting it enthusiastically to overcome their psychological issues and frustration. These travelers seek inner peace while some people do it just because they find it a journey to understand the real hidden meanings of life. However, in the future, this trend is going to be negatively impacted as people will become aware of it. Also, since every product has a life-cycle, when it matures, its demand automatically decreases. In the maturity stage of this trend, there will be sufficient piece of evidence and people’s negative experiences to guide everyone about its harmful effects if done without any proper spiritual context. As a result, people will shift to any other innovative and new trend. Also, more awareness will spread along, and as a result, people will start spending more money on health and wellness travel industry trends because their work-life balance and rapidly increasing technological progress will encourage them to do so.
Sauna
Sauna Hermann is a place in Finland which provides the customers with the facility to enjoy sauna on their vocational trip. It has been reported in The Guardian that as per the calculation of the year 2010, 1.5 million private saunas were providing their services in the country, which means that one sauna was available for 3.5 people (Hirons, 2017). It shows an increasing trend of the sauna in the country, which has some positive and negative impacts on the travel industry.
Pros and Repercussions
The benefits of this trends are discussed widely in several pieces of research. A study was conducted in 2015, which covered more than 2,300 middle-aged individuals in Finland. The results of this study showed that the number of times a man takes a sauna, the more he becomes immune to deadly heart diseases. Also, the probability of an early death also declines. It has been reported that sauna has an impact on blood pressure, as the latter’s chances of disturbance drop because of the former. Sauna reduces the likeliness of dementia (Hobson, 2018). However, the actual reason behind these benefits could not be found. The advantages which the sauna centers claim around include having a positive impact on the tourism industry. People are into this wellness trend as it is a great body relaxing technique.
Cons and Repercussions
Several pieces of research have been done on the other picture of the trend. The adverse effects of sauna were researched in 2006, according to which biological impacts of infrared radiations, which are present in the case of the sauna, are extremely adverse. Thermal injury is the most dangerous risk of the sauna which is due to the wavelength of IR lights. Moreover, either pain is felt or not; the thermal injury is immensely damaging for the users of the sauna. The negative impacts also include hyperpigmentation, scaling, and telangiectasias, which are because of continuous exposure of skin to heat. The results also include DNA repair efficacy and the increased tendency of cancer. The retina of one’s eye can be damaged and can lead to cataracts (International Commission on Nonionizing Radiation Protection, 2006). However, it is possible that no injury would occur, but the negative impacts of IR are intense. Their effects are eye-opening, and the widespread of this awareness will cause people to shift from sauna to other wellness retreats. Even if people shift their preference from sauna to any other wellness trend, the impact on tourism industry will remain insignificant because people are becoming aware of the fact that their health is in their hands. Furthermore, they find it beneficial to go on wellness retreats than merely going on vacations because the former give double benefit to them, including health and entertainment, while the latter is merely for fun.
Spa Vacations
Pros and Repercussions
Kazandzhieva (2014) reported that wellness tourism is more substantial in revenue than the medical tourism, and Spa vacations have crucial importance in it. It contains a valuable portion of the travel industry, as Spa vacations are increasing in trends to their massive benefits. This awareness and positive experience of people with this wellness trend are making them adopt it vigorously. Moreover, Europe is observed to have the most significant wellness revenue in the entire world. The preference of people to take Spa vacations is that it gives their tourism a lavish look and enhances their tourism experience. It has also been reported that spa and wellness travel is forecasted to grow in the upcoming years because of the following reasons:
Baby boomers are aging, and they are searching for different ways to improve their health quality and expand their life years.
People have started realizing that they can increase their life expectancy by adopting healthy practices. Moreover, they have control over it to a considerable extent.
Globalization has a huge role in expanding the wellness industry, and people have various options available at their doorstep, or, in other words, one clicks away (Kazandzhieva, 2014).
In the light of the upper mentioned points and discussion, spa trend is expected to have a positive impact on the travel industry. Unlike sauna, the methods and techniques used in a spa are not observed with suspicion yet; they are considered healthy and relaxing. Thus, there is no chance of any decrease in its trend in the future, but there are chances that wellness providers will transform, innovate, and adapt their services as per the unique demand of every tourist. Global Wellness Institute released the statistics according to which, in 2015, spa industry’s volume was $99 billion and wellness tourism captured $563 billion (Global Wellness Institute, 2017). It gives an insight into the potential increase in the tourism industry because of spa retreats in future.
Cons and Repercussions
Though spa has gained immense popularity in the wellness and travel industry, people have started raising eyebrows on some of the potential disadvantages that can be caused due to spa retreats. The cons of spa include a massive amount of chlorine used in the water being consumed. The actual purpose of adding chlorine in the water is to kill the harmful microorganisms and give a safe and healthy body relaxing treatment to the tourists. Nevertheless, the amount of chlorine is so high that it makes the water unhealthy for the individuals who use it. Another problem, which is highlighted by Hirons (2017) is that with spa, is that bacteria grow and spread in hot water because it is the highly suitable condition for them. Thus, when a person is inhaling the steam amid the spa treatment, there is a high possibility that this breath is containing a significant number of microorganisms. Moreover, the purpose of taking spa treatments is often to get a skin treatment; in this process, skin ruptures, which is for the regrowth of the skin. However, in the condition when the skin is ruptured, it is possible that the microorganisms can have direct contact with the surface and they enter the blood or inner side of the skin. In the result, several forms of infections and diseases can take place. Therefore, in the light of such negative aspects of spa and the sensitivity of the issue, which can happen due to small negligence, concerns some people who are extremely health conscious. So, the consequences may include the shift of people from this wellness and health trend to any better and safer alternative. In short, the effect on tourism will be negligible as the same tourists will still go for any other better wellness retreat than the one they find harmful.
Yoga Retreat
The word yoga is popular for several previous decades. It dates back to ancient times when India was in the phase of religious transformation. People used to do it at their homes etc. However, in the contemporary era, it has been linked to the travel industry and has become a favorite trend related to health and wellness, and people are adopting it through getting different vacation packages and plans.
Pros and Repercussions
As people have become busier in their technology prone routine lives, they are unable to give much time to themselves, and their emotional and psychological well-being. They are getting several benefits out of it as it includes different types of exercises which tune one’s body and enhance its flexibility, immunity, and health. It is also advantageous in specific body needs which arises in the result of several diseases. Moreover, the yoga trend is popular and useful for the travel industry because it increases a sense of community of the yoga doers which the people are seeking nowadays because, in the busy lives, they have been surrounded by gadgets; their work-life balance is disturbed. Therefore, yoga retreats are going to provide them with the required relaxation and body fitness, and its impact on travel industry is expected to increase in the upcoming years.
Another factor which is essential in assessing the repercussions of this increasing trend is that the connection of people to religion is decreasing, which is expected to get enhanced in future. Resultantly, the travel industry will also flourish. A study by Delaney (2017) discussed the results of consensus, according to which, in 1911, 96% of the people reported themselves as Christians while the percentage has fallen from 13.1 million (61%) to 12.2 million (52%) in the last five years. On the other hand, according to May Morgan Research, one in every ten Australian of 14 years and above do yoga, in 2016, while 2008 aerobics was in trend. The percentage of women who do yoga has also escalated from 8% to 15%. Yoga industry is of $80 billion volume around the world, while $30 billion and $80 billion in United States of America and Australia, respectively (Delaney, 2017).
Cons and Repercussions
Though some people claim that particular forms of yoga are, primarily, useful for fat burning, the extent of weight loss is too low in this activity, as compared to other weight reducing exercises. It is a misconception that yoga is used for weight reduction. Its function is to make the body energized, active, and flexible. It has been observed that yoga has a positive impact on heart rate, pulse rate, blood pressure, etc. but the people who are solely seeking for exercises or wellness trends to reduce their weight, yoga is not the right choice for them. It is not the disadvantage of yoga retreats, but it still has a negative impact on tourism industry if the tourists are looking for the wellness trend to reduce their weight. As soon as the awareness increases, people will start shifting from yoga retreats to other ordinary yoga centers. The reason is that yoga has some specific benefits which cannot be obtained from any other wellness retreat such as meditation. Thus, the decrease in demand for yoga retreats will have a negative impact on the tourism industry, but when any alternative to yoga retreat is introduced in future with almost the same benefits, people will go for it.
Biohacking
Pros and Repercussions
Life hacking is the latest trend which leads to several practices, such as having a specific healthy diet, meditation, and exercises in which a person gets energy from the ground and use it to repair body cells and get various benefits from it. It includes various forms of medical, technological, and nutritious techniques which are used to make the body work in the form one want. The trend is forecasted to have a boom in the nearest future, which will also have a positive impact on the tourism industry, as travel industry has created more comprehensive ways to increase its revenues and volume by indulging latest wellness trends in its activities. People will travel to such spots around the world where they will get such wellness treatments. The increase in the demand of this technique will also open ways to more innovative methods of wellness which will lead travel industry to its peak CITATION Doe17 l 1033 (NCBI, 2017).
Cons and Repercussions
Its disadvantages have not been widely discussed yet because this trend is still not famous enough. People are not much aware of it. However, it has some disadvantages amongst which the biggest is that the biohacking. Although designed to benefit human beings, is an artificial way of treating the body and altering its natural processes, which might be harmful to it. Human beings have developed latest technologies and products for our wellness, but they can never be as sophisticated as a natural system can be. The results can be unprecedented and adverse to the human beings’ health.
The above-discussed perception about biohacking can be detrimental to this trend, and overall, the impact on tourism industry cannot be much significant. Following are the underlying reasons: Firstly, biohacking has not been indulged with tourism to a considerable extent. Secondly, if the adverse effects of biohacking will make the people not to choose this for travel purposes, they will be having other options for traveling as well. Henceforth, the overall impact on tourism will not be negligible. However, if this trend flourishes, it will have a massively positive effect on the travel and wellness industry.
References
BIBLIOGRAPHY Delaney, B. (2017, June 29). The Census Shows There’s a Gap in the Spirituality Market. Is Yoga Filling It? Retrieved from The Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/jun/29/the-census-shows-theres-a-gap-in-the-spirituality-market-is-yoga-filling-it
Global Wellness Institute. (2017, January). Statistics and Facts. Retrieved from Global Wellness Institute: https://www.globalwellnessinstitute.org/press-room/statistics-and-facts/
Hirons, P. (2017, June 28). Finland’s Sauna Scene as Hot as Ever. Retrieved from The Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2016/jun/28/finland-helsinki-lapland-health-spa-sauna
Hobson, K. (2018, January 20). Saunas Are a Hot Trend, and They Might Even Help Your Health. Retrieved from NPR: https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2018/01/20/579147638/saunas-are-a-hot-trend-and-they-might-even-help-your-health
International Commission on Nonionizing Radiation Protection. (2006). ICNIRP Statement on Far Infrared Radiation Exposure. Health Phys Journal, 91(6). Retrieved from https://hps.org/publicinformation/ate/q10677.html
Kazandzhieva, V. (2014, July). Trends in the Development of Spa and Wellness Tourism. Retrieved from ResearchGate: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/263808671_TRENDS_IN_THE_DEVELOPMENT_OF_SPA_AND_WELLNESS_TOURISM
NCBI. (2017, May 26). Does Medication Carry a Risk of Harmful Side Effects? Retrieved February 2018, from NCBI: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/behindtheheadlines/news/2017-05-26-does-meditation-carry-a-risk-of-harmful-side-effects/
Schlanger, Z. (2015, August 18). How an Intense Ten-Day Meditation Retreat Could Transform Your Life for the Better. Retrieved from Independent: http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/how-an-intensive-ten-day-meditation-retreat-could-transform-your-life-for-the-better-10461380.html