SpaFinder Wellness has revealed a preview of its 10th annual Trends Report, which forecasts top trends that will impact the spa and wellness industry and shape consumer experiences around the globe. The full 60+-page report, including an analysis of factors influencing each trend and examples of early trend adopters, will be released on January 15, 2013.
Each year the SpaFinder Wellness Trend Report is developed by company research analysts, led by Susie Ellis who is the president of SpaFinder Wellness and the chairman and CEO of the Global Spa & Wellness Summit. The forecast is based on ongoing surveys with spa and wellness businesses and stakeholders around the globe, thousands of travel agents, and hundreds of thousands of consumers.
On Wednesday, January 16, 2013, Susie Ellis, will host a special webinar detailing these top 10 trends, and their potential impact on the industry in coming years.
In a snapshot, the top 10 spa and wellness trends focused on: healthy hotels, the “Mindfulness Massage”, Earthing, spa-genomics, authentic Ayurveda and other ancient revivals, color self-expression, inclusive wellness, label conscious fitness, and for men, “brotox”.
In 2013 and beyond, what constitutes a true “vacation” is expected to be redefined and “hospitality” will be rewritten. There is an expected explosion of new “wellness everywhere” hotel chains and environments becoming more mainstream. In the past, gyms and spas have been positioned as mere amenities, but now these walls are being conceptually (and literally) broken down. Established hotel chains are re-branding around wellness, and customized food and beverage offerings (gluten-free and vegan menus) are becoming standard fare, and hotels are jumping into the juice-themed vacation frenzy.
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Meanwhile, a blend of two approaches, mindfulness and bodywork, the “Mindfulness Massage” can help people relax more deeply and quickly. Rather than lying on the massage table with a mind full of chatter from the stresses of the day, the "Mindfulness Massage" uses breath work and techniques such as “body scans,” where attention is brought to every part of the body and the action of the therapists’ hands. This two-way symphony offers guidance on how to take the massage to a new “mindful” level.
Earthing specifically refers to the movement promoting direct contact with the earth’s electron-rich surface. The premise is that “grounding” the body to the earth’s surface stabilizes natural electrical rhythms and reduces disease-causing inflammation.
The report also noted a more aggressively promotion of authentic and comprehensively-executed global wellness experiences at spas with a distinctly ancient look, feel and language. Best known is the 3,500-year-old, Indian-born Ayurveda, a medical system identifying imbalances in a person’s “doshas”.
Dramatically more men are having more serious “work” done at medspas and plastic surgery offices, as injectables, love handle remedies and advanced new surgery technologies make for little downtime and telltale scars. Ths, too, is an emerging trend noted by the report.
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