The wellness revolution

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Tatweer's announcement of a new US $1 billion wellness resort at Dubai Healthcare City has highlighted the wellness move currently underway in the global spa sector. But, is Dubai's spa industry ready to make the transition?

The development of a resort at Dubai Healthcare City that will fuse fitness, spa, sports medicine and integrative health has brought the wellness trend to the forefront of the region's spa industry .

It follows the recent announcement by Schletterer Wellness & Spa Design that it would develop a sports-medical spa project, The Cube, at Dubai Sports City and the revelations earlier this year that the Jumeirah Group would be launching four new spa models under the Talise Wellness banner.

In addition, director of Wafi Health & Leisure Daniella Russell has exclusively revealed to Spa Manager that the company's Cleopatra's Spa and Pharaoh's Club are being rebranded to unite the spa and fitness offer.

Russell said: "We've got our own fitness club and spa and hair salon, and we've been trying for a while now to get them to talk to each other, but because they've all been quite separate entities they've struggled to marry up. We're in the process now of writing up our rebranding and we have been discussing the issue of what is wellness.

"We're trying to look at one aspect of it and we've started with nutrition and are trying to make that the central point," said Russell.

The main issue with the emergence of the wellness trend in the region is that there is still no definition for a spa, let alone a wellness facility, added Spa Resources International operations manager Richard Grew.

Jumeirah Group director of spas Anni Hood agreed that the word wellness was being "banded around", but said that for Talise Spa wellness was about " optimising health, preventing illness and taking a proactive approach to how we manage our lifestyle, with very much a health aspect to it."

"Wellness has almost taken over from spa," she said. "It is taking it to another level, looking at facts and measuring that wellness. Integrated health is about illness prevention, proactive health and taking accountability for your own health in the long-term."

Hood is confident that the spa industry is well placed to help with this and added that the advent of Dubai Healthcare City showed the region was ready to embrace wellness.

However, spa director for Mandara Spa at The Monarch Dubai Sharon Barcock questioned whether the move to wellness was part of a business strategy to capture more of the market and warned that it would not be possible in some locations that might not have enough space or facilities.

She affirmed that Mandara Spa for example, would remain a pampering spa focused on massage treatments.

Regardless of a precise definition and the motivation behind wellness, Russell said that a move to wellness would be inevitable for many spas.

"We were a spa industry; we're now moving into a wellness industry - however much we say we are spa, it will be wellness within about 18 months," said Russell.

Towers Rotana Dubai recreation manager Donna Kenyon added: "The fitness industry gradually merged with the spa industry and I believe this will certainly move into a wellness industry too.

It's no longer about mind, body and spirit, it's also about everyday life and health concerns. People talk about ‘balance' these days and wellness is a combination of every aspect of our lives - physical, emotional, spiritual, occupational, intellectual, environmental and social."

Shangri-La Qaryat Al Beri Abu Dhabi director of spa Nancee Ong-Wee agreed: "We cannot deny the fact that medical spas and wellness resorts are gaining popularity.

There are now many people with discretionary income aggressively seeking to maintain youthful looks and searching for preventive healthcare services in environments that are more pleasant than clinics. They also appeal to those who want to combine conventional and alternative medicine in their quest for optimal health."

For Bryan Hoare, wellness director at Six Senses Destination Spa Phuket in Thailand, the trend for wellness goes beyond this.

"I don't believe that wellness is simply important for the spa industry, I think it is important for all industries. People need to be aware of how they are living and apply the concepts of wellness to their lives.

"Companies from Goldman Sachs to Google are looking at the wellness of their employees and governments all over the world place wellness as vital to their economies. The wellness as opposed to sickness industry is ever-evolving with the concept that prevention is better than cure and a dollar spent on wellness now saves many more spent on sickness in the future - not to mention time and quality of life," he continued.

"Wellness is a lifestyle that promotes benefits in socio-economic outcomes, quality of life, happiness, spiritual awakening and much more - smart governments, companies and individuals will apply it where they can," added Hoare.

The overwhelming conclusion is that the wellness trend has already impacted the Middle East and that, where applicable, the spa industry should capitalise on it now.

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