Role of Spa Resorts in the development of India as a preferred wellness Tourism

Destination- A case of Himalayas

Abstract

Ayurveda is evolved from India around 5000 BC. It is closely associated with wellness of body,
mind and soul. India can become as the most preferred wellness destination of the world due to
the presence of rich natural resources, ashrams, meditation centre's, world famous spas.
According to the Global Spa Summit report, 2017Spa's are the back bone of the wellness tourism
sector and the concept of wellness is incomplete without the involvement of spa. The present
study would examine the role played by Spa resorts in promoting India as a wellness tourist
destination. The study is qualitative in nature and confined towards Himalayan spa resorts. The
primary data is collected from various spa resorts situated in the Himalayan states and secondary
data is collected from various journals, reports, and thesis.

Key Terms: Spa, wellness tourism, tourism, Himalayas

Introduction

Spa and Spa Tourism:

The word Spa can be described as 'sanitas per aqua' and majorly it involves various types of
water treatments or healing by natural sources. As we discussed earlier as well the conception of
the word wellness is partial without the employ of the word Spa. A kind of tourism which
emphasis on healingand wellbeing of the body in spas by using various methods of curative
medical techniques or preventive wellness methods (Smith and Puczko, 2014). According to
Smith and Puczko, spa can be defined as the best form of wellness tourism. According to the
global spa summit report ( 2011) a research was conducted related to the role of spas in wellness
tourism, around 67% respondent from global spa industry observed the importance of wellness
tourism.

International Spa Association, 2013 has categorized spas on the following basis:

1. Destination Spas: The main aim of destination spa is to develop healthy habits among
travelers it also includes wellness education, ayrvedic cuisine, and physical fitness.

2. Medical spa: It aerated under the licensed medical doctor, it provides wellness care.

3. Mineral Spring Spa: It offers various hydro treatments with the help of thermal or natural
spring water.
 4. Resort or Hotel Spa: A hotel providing various spa facilities like fitness and wellness
components.

Himalayas as a Wellness/ Spa Destination:

Various destinations in Himalayas have around 3,500 species of herbs and various plants which
have medicinal, culinary and cosmetic properties. These herbs are used in various treatments
( Manhas, 2009). Himalayas have got plenty of hot springs. Many world famous spas are present
in the vicinity of Jammu and Kashmir, Himanchal, Uttrakhand and Sikkim which are making use
of these hot springs and natural resources to promote their spa resorts and as well as the
destination. Along with spa tourism, yoga tourism is also very famous in many parts of
Himalayas and the history is dated back to 2,500 years. Many Himalayas destinations like
Ladhak, Rishikesh, Dharamsala are very famous for spa tourism and ayurveda tourism.

Medical Tourism v/s Wellness Tourism:

Before going into the more details about wellness tourism, we should try to understand the
difference between medical tourism and wellness tourism. Medical Tourism involves the tourist
who are traveling to different places in for treatment of various diseases or cosmetic surgery
which involves invasive techniques for treatment (Global Spa Summit, 2011). Whereas Wellness
tourism involves traveling of tourist in search of rejuvenation and enhancing their personal
health and wellbeing through various non invasive techniques or through holistic approach.
These days there is a lot of misconception and confusion over the difference between wellness
and medical tourism, the below mentioned diagram clearly defined the major difference between
Medical and wellness tourism.
 L
A
IT
P
S
O
H
Above figure clearly defines the difference between wellness and medical tourism, in case of
wellness tourism, the key components are hotel spas, yoga retreats, ashrams, spiritual,
destination spa resort and ayurvediccentre's. As we already understood that wellness tourism
includes traveling for beauty, wellbeing and peace and health tourism tourism is traveling for
invasive medical treatment and surgery (Henderson, 2004 and Bushel & Sheldon, 2009).

Review of Literature:

The great himalays in India has got a huge poitential to become the centre piece for promoting
wellness tourism or spa tourism in India has it has huge amount of natural resources viz a viz
herbs, different kinds of natural oils etc.According to the case study done by Manhas, 2013, he
clearly stated that there are plenty of oppurtunities lying within Himalayas in promoting it as a
presfred wellness destination, he also discussed the paramountprobablemanner and a variety
ofhurdles to promote the himalayas as the hub for wellness tourist. Himalays are lately
associated with the concept of ayurveda (wellness tourism,2020).

Over the past few years the concept of wellness is taking a big leap in India. The wellness
tourism market in India is growing at a very rapid pace day by day. According to the
recent study conducted by SRI International, the wellness tourism market is estimated to
grow at the rate of 50% faster than the global tourism industry in the year 2017.
According to one of the researches on spa and wellness tourist and the main reason of
visiting wellness and spa destinations was relaxation and stress management (Coyle
Hospitality Group, 2011). According to the International Spa Association, main intention
 of the tourists to visit spas is stress management and relaxation (ISPA, 2013). Spas offer
a peaceful space which bridges the mind from the outer world thus providing relaxation
(McCarthy 2013). According to one the research conducted on wellness tourism, tourist
main intention to visit spas is to feel better and attaining peace (National Tourism
development Authority, 2007). The main motivators for Spa going tourists are health,
rejuvenation, and relaxation (Koh et.2010). According to the medical and wellness report
in asia by ITC, 2014 India, Malayusia, Singapore and Thailand are said to be the
epocentres of wellness tourism

India has always been recognized the soil of Aurveda, Yoga and Meditation. It has got the huge
potential of promoting India as a preferred wellness tourism destination of the world. Due to its
rich diversity in terms of flaura and fauna and diverse landscapes which include great Himalayas,
it can become the epicenter of wellness tourism (Manhas,2009). The various offerings viz a viz
Ayurveda, Meditation, yoga and other facilities, India could become the Mecca of wellness and
Spa tourism.According to the Global Wellness Tourism Economy Report (2013), Wellness
travelers are in search of stress reduction, fitness, yoga, and meditation and spa experiences.
India along with Thailand and Malaysia are considered to be the leading destinations for medical
tourism in Asia due to the low priced surgeries and cosmetics and presence of wellness tourism
resources. Due to the ever increasing hectic lifestyle, most of the travelers are in search of
ayuredic therapies which come under the category of non invasive technique of healing the body
by using natural herbs and natural resources. Many Indian Spas are working on the concept of
providing wellness therapies and various body treatments. Recently Ministry of Tourism,
government of India has constituted a National Medical & Wellness Tourism Promotion Board,
2015 in order to promote wellness and medical tourism in India (www.ministry of tourism.com).

Role of Spa's in wellness tourism:

Spa is an essential part of wellness tourism, according to the report submitted by the global spa
summit, 2011 it has clearly stated that spa is an essential part of wellness tourism.

The below mentioned table is clearly showing the importance of spa's in wellness tourism sector
 50
40
30
20
10
0

Source: Global Spa Summit, 2017

From this table it is clearly visible that the respondents hasve given spa ( > 40 %) the most
prefered factor in choosing a destination as the wellness destination anddomains like health
promotion, weight loss, rejuvenation, mind bidy and spirit, preventive health, pampering,
wellness centre's and water based thepries have be given less priority ( 25%, 22%, 23%,
24%,24%, 10%, 8%, 7%). Hence this data clearly define the role of spa's in promoting a
particular destination as a wellness tourist destination.

Objectives of the Study

 Initiatives taken up by the Indian government for promoting "brand India" as a "wellness
tourism destination".
 Function of Spa resorts in promoting Himalayas as the prefered wellness destination
 To discover the various advantages of developing a spa resort in unxplored destinations
of Himalyas

Various Intitives by the government for promoting wellness tourism;

As we have already discussed ealrier that ministry of tourism, government of India fourmlated a
boardtopromotewellness tourism apart from it also has structured the guidelines for "creating
wellness under the category of Niche tourism. According to the Ministry of Tourism
Government of India the definition of wellness tourism is a healthy balance of the spirit, body
and mind that results in an overall peace and relaxation. Hence,wellness tourism can be defined
as travel that involves to experience a healthy way of living life. In other words, ‘Wellness’ is a
state of keeping the body, mind and soul healthy ll the time (Ministry of toursim, government of
India, 2015).According to the latest report released by Ministry of Tourism, Government of India
in 2015, guidelines have been framed to promote India as a prefered medical and wellness tourist
destination and also considering medical and wellness tourism into the category of niche tourism
product.

Key Points:

Definition of wellness tourism according to the Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, " the
overall wellbeing of a person by balancing of mind, body and spirit in a healthy way. Wellness
tourism can be defined as "traveling of tourist in search of mental relaxation and over all comfort
of mind, body and soul.According the report "Revised Guidelines for The Promotion of Wellness
and Medical as Niche Tourism Product, 2015 it is clearly stated that wellness industry in India is
one of the fastest growing domain of tourism industry.

 India has got huge potential to become the leading wellness destination globally.
 Since time immemorial, wellness is an integral part of Indian way of living
 India should be promoted as 365 days destination for wellness tourism.
 Various wellness tourism association would be formulated taking into consideration the
existing one
 Marketing development assistance would be given to the wellness service providers
which would include Wellness Centers, SPAs and Wellness Tourism Facilitators (WTFs)
i.e., Travel Agents and Tour Operators
 Special assistance would be given to the Spa's in terms of marketing.
 Various fairs and festivals would be organized for wellness tourism stakeholders to
promote this concept at a bugger platform
 Wellness and Medical Tourism Promotion Committee (WMTPC) would be formulated
which will include two Representatives of Wellness and Medical Tourism selected by
Ministry of Tourism, Representative of Association of Domestic Tours Operators of
India, Representative of Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO), Representative of
Federation of Hotels & Restaurants Association of India (FHRAI), Representative of
Hotel Association of India (HAI) ,Representative of Federation of Indian Chambers of
Commerce &Industry (FICCI), Representative of Indian Chamber of Commerce (ICC),
Member Secretary: Secretary General, Indian Medical Association
 Promotion would be done through workshops / events / meets / seminars:
 Financial assistance will be provided to organize fairs and events
 This concept would be advertised with the help of Incredible India logo
 Capacity building programmers will be offered to trained the manpower in the field of
wellness tourism
Role of spa resorts in promoting Himalayas as the wellness tourist destination:

Various Spa resorts of himalayas viz a viz Jammu and Kashmir, Uttrakhand and Himanchal and
we have compared the various spa resorts situated in the lap of himalayas and their significance
of promoting himalays as a tourist destination.

According to Global Spa summit,2011 India has been considered as the prime wellness
destination with context toaurveda,yoga, and other spiritual and medicinal activities but still it
doesn't have a clear promotional planning and image which can promote India as a wellness
tourist destination Acccording to the report named "Wellness tourism&Medical tourism" these
days most of the travellers are visiting India for various recreational activities like yoga, spa,
mediatation ( Global Spa Summit,2011).

Few major Spa resorts in Himalayas:

 Jammu and Kashmir: Khyber Spa and Resort, Gulmarg

 Himanchal Pradesh: Wildflower Hall, Shimla
 Uttrakhand: Ananda in The Himalayas
 Sikkim: Chumbi Mountain Retreat and Spa.

Famous Spa Resorts in Himalayas and Different Spa Treatments and Therapies Offered by
Them:

A. Khyber Spa and Resort, Gulmarg (Jammu and Kashmir)

It offers signature treatments with private steam chamber offering Swedish, Hawaiian,
LomiLomi, Balinese & Shiatsu massages. It uses flora and fresh Himalayan water.

Treatments:

1. Facials

It includes Anti – Ageing treatments like Corsica, Shea Butter from Burkina Faso, and Angelica
from Drome.

2. Immortelle Secret to Brightness: It includes the lifting treatment with Immortelle and enriched
with Vitamin C derivative and BellisPerennis.

3. Angelica Fountain of Glow: It is ideal for miniaturization, which includes water and essential
oil. It is signature drainage face massage sequence.

4. Shea Nourishing Comfort: It includes traditional methods, Massage includes microcirculation.

5. Verdon for Men VerdonVifying Skincare: A draining massage helps to eliminate toxins of
body.

6. Body Massages Aromachologie Relaxing Aromachologie Massage: It includes Swedish

Chinese acupressure and Balinese containing all the essential oils – Lavender, Tea tree and
Geranium which ensure total relaxation.

7. Revitalizing Aromachologie Massage: It includes gentle Swedish effleurages; deeper-it

eliminates the Feelings of fatigue or weakness.

8. Deep Tissue Intense Relief: It is a Hawaiian LomiLomi massage, which is a deep-tissue

massage which is perfect for relaxation.

9. The Signature Lemon Balm Body Massage: It is a blend of Lemon Balm essential oil and
L’OCCITANE Neutral Oil, blended which is based on Swedish, Balinese and Acupressure.

10. Re-Energizing Sun Stones: It includes Swedish effleurage strokes and revitalizing essential
oils.

11. Body Scrubs Signature Lemon Balm Apricot Scrub: It includes Himalayan mineral rich
spring water and gentle touch of Lemon Balm essential oil.

12. Shea Nourishing Scrub: It is a nourishing Shea butter massage

13. Almond Firming Paste Scrub: It is an Almond Milk Concentrate

14. Wraps the Signature Lemon Balm-Sandal Wrap: It includes Himalayan clay and reviving
Lemon Balm essential oil useful for the foot and scalp massage.

15. Body Technical Treatments

16. Almond Silhouette Reshapel: Type of massage focused on the thighs, stomach and buttocks.
Helps in antiwater retention and antifat storage.

17. Area-Focused Treatments

18. Shea Ultra-Rich Softening Hand Care

19. Relaxing Aromachologie Massage for The Back: It is relaxing massage specifically targets
the back, shoulder and back of the neck which helps in releasing tension

20. Leg Refresher with Essential Oils: Massage for travelers which nourish the skin.

21. Purifying Treatment for The Back: It is a back treatment which ideal before a special
occasion.

22. Immortelle Youthful Eyes: It is a lifting massage and a good for eye area.
23. Neck, Shoulder And Head Massage: Includes essential oils which help release tension and
stress.

24. Foot Reflexology: It helps in relaxing those tired legs with the help of revitalizing
aromachologie oil.

25. Soothing Provencal Steam Bath: It includes private steam chamber during which pure
essential oils.

26. Baths: It is a well-being bath healthy for skin.

27. Types of Bath:

 Verbena Invigorating Bath

 Lavender Relaxing Bath
 Soothing Bath with Essential Oils

B. Vivanta by Taj, Srinagar (Jammu and Kashmir)

Rejuve-the spa special spa

Treatments:

1. Fragrant aroma therapy: it includes well-being of mind, body and soul helps in de-stressing,
energizing and anti ageing,

2. Deep tissue massage: - Ideal to relieve the stress of the day.

3. Head, neck & back massage/reflexology: - It energies quick stress relievers, available through
the day.

4. Rejuve signature massage:- It is a European style massage aroma oils.

5. Fragrant aroma massage:- It is a blend of pure essential oils used for deep healing suitable
well-being for the mind, body and soul.

6. Balinese massage:-it uses ancient Balinese massage techniques which helps in repair damage
tissue.

7. Deep tissue massage:- It rejuvenates the deeper layer of the muscles and connective tissue it is
an all around stress reliever.

8. Rejuve soothing touches:- It helps in repairing damage tissue, soothe strained muscles.

9. Head, neck and back massage:-it is a signature massage helps in stress relief and relaxation.
10. Marma facial massage:- Again a signature massage helps in stress relief and relaxation.

C. The Wildflower Hall, Shimla (Himanchal Pradesh)

1. Signature indigenous rituals: It is 5000 year-old tenets of Ayuvedic philosophy. Warm oils of
Shirodharaused for body healing

2. Massage therapy: It is the Oberoi signature therapy including our Balinese treatment involving
yogic and Buddhist theories.

3. Revitalising Body Therapies at Wildflower Hall, Shimla in The Himalayas: It constitutes fresh
flowers which helps in rejuvenating the body and mind. It releases tension.

4. Skin and Nail Care at Wildflower Hall, Shimla in The Himalayas: It is a skin and nail care
treatment which purifies the skin. It also includes manicure or pedicure.

D. Ananda in The Himalayas, Rishikesh (Uttrakhnad)

Ananda in The Himalayas offers around 74 body treatments and yoga and meditation
programmes.

Various Therpies:

Some Major Treatments:

Treatment

1. Ayurvedic and Wellness Consultation

2. Ayurvedic Lifestyle Recommendation
3. Abhyanga
4. Pizhichil
5. Choornaswedana
6. Shirodhara
7. Takradhara
8. Udwarthana
9. mukhalepa
10. tan lepa
11. Tarpana
12. Gandusa
13. Kavala
14. kativasti
15. snehavasti
16. kashayavasti
 17. Nasyam
18. Talpodhichil
19. Urovasthi

Apart from this Ananda also offers other facilities like:

 Yoga & Meditation: Yoga and meditation at Ananda is helps in mental and physical
relaxation.
 Yoga Pavilion: A majestic open-air marbled floor shelter which provides ideal
environment for individual instruction or private meditation.

Proposed/ Practical Framework for the promotion of Himalayas as the preferred tourist
destination:

Here, a model or framework has been proposed in order to attract wellness tourist in Himalayas.
A push and pull model has been taken in which Push factors are considered as presence of yoga,
meditation, spiritual activities and spiritual environment. Whereas pull factors like presence of
retreats, destination spas and environment has been considered.

This framework clearly depicts the different ways to promote Himalayas as the wellness
destination; a more emphasis has to be given on factors like development of more destination
spas, retreats and good infrastructure at these places in order to grab the attention of tourists.
Also the push factors have to be taken into consideration for creating a global image of the
Himalayas as the wellness destinations like providing ayurveda, meditation and spiritual
activities in the destination spa resorts.

From the above study of various major spa resorts present in the Himalayas, it has been clearly
noticed that very minimum attention has been given to the concept of ayurveda, meditation and
spiritual activities as these activities if promoted along with the regular spa treatments could
attract more tourists as these days wellness tourist are in search of not only regular spa treatments
but also rejuvenation of soul which can be attained by having a peaceful and blissful
environment and wellness activities like ayurveda, meditation and spiritualism.
Model for Push and Pull Factors which can promote himalayas as the prefered wellness
destination

Recommendations:

 The spa resorts should also introduce the theory of aurveda, meditation and yoga in order
to promote Himalayan destination as wellness tourist destinations to create a niche in the
market of wellness tourist destination as Himalayas has got all the components like
spiritual and peaceful environment, ayurveda and yoga which make it as a unique
wellness destination

 There are very less spa resorts available in Himalayas especially in Jammu and Kashmir
which are offering complete spa facilities which involves ayurvedic cuisine, meditation
and spiritual activities, so there is a need of the hour to develop and introduce well
equipped spa resorts in these states.
 Potential of the Himalayas to become the preferred spa destination is immense; the need
of the hour is to formulate government policies or framework to develop these untapped
destinations as wellness destinations.
 Privatization of these destinations is very important like providing the land to different
hotel chains to develop these destinations as the preferred spa and wellness destinations

Conclusion
China, Thailand, Malaysia, and USA are the most outstanding places with context to wellness or
spa tourism. Indian Himalayas are still in the development phase to become a preferred wellness
or spa tourist destination due to the presence of huge amount of natural herbs, resources and
holistic natural environment. The Indian government still hasn'tformulated any policy or
framework to promote these untapped destinations of Himalayas, though few regions are already
promoting these destinations as wellness or spa destinations. This destination if promoted in a
right manner can become the leading destination in terms of spa and wellness tourism.

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