4-1206-Niche Markets.qxp - Travel World News

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THE PROFITABLE WORLD OF NICHE MARKETS INDIA FROM PAGE 3 ter (called “gunas”). The three gunas are “rajas”, the excitable, fiery, and spicy state; “tamas”, the sluggish, inert, and moribund state; and “sattva”, the enlightened, placid, and balanced state. Ayurveda is a balance between the pancha-mahabhutas and the doshas. For example, each individual’s constitution is a specific dominant dosha. Life’s experiences and emotions erode that constitution. This creates imbalances as the doshas shift into excess and shortage. At the same time, an individual is governed by being charged and intense (“rajasic”), or by being in the doldrums and sluggish (“tamasic”), or by being fully balanced and contented (“sattvic”). These gunas shift into excess and shortage as well, and impose more imbalances. The challenge for Ayurvedic doctors, then, is to determine the specific nature of these many overlays, and to prescribe a specific natural healing modality. It is through massage, exercise, oils, cleansing and nutrition that an individual can return to the balanced, sattvic state. Yoga Yoga is at once a philosophy, an art, a system for complete health in all its aspects, and a lifestyle. It is a brilliant spiritual system predicated on finding liberation from the mind’s trickery. Most succinctly, yoga is defined as stilling the mind’s chatter. Its holistic blueprint quiets the mind’s acrobatics and diffuses its ever-aggravating tricks. With a tranquil mind, one’s innate self-knowledge can become apparent. Spiritual growth and freedom can be attained. The sage Patanjali codified the Vedic knowledge (after several iterations through the centuries) into his eponymous and classical text, The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. He provided the framework for yoga as we know it today, as an eight-limbed system. What has so enthralled adherents in the West about yoga is its third limb: asana. This practice of physical postures brings balance, strength and flexibility. Each asana has an underlying therapeutic benefit. Patanjali’s fourth limb is breath awareness, or pranayama. It is compelling with its calibrating effect on personal tranquility. Adapted as a physical exercise regime, yoga has grown to epic proportions. There are some 19 million practitioners in the U.S. alone - according to a 2005 survey undertaken by Yoga Journal magazine. But yoga is light years beyond mere physical exercise. The American Vedic scholar Dr. David Frawley tells us "Yoga is the practical side of the Vedic teachings while Ayurveda is the healing side." From Philosophy to Facts -According to the 2004 Spa Industry Study of the International Spa Association (ISPA), there are 12,100 spas in the U.S., and 2,100 in Canada. The spa industry is the fourth largest U.S. leisure industry. The ISPA’s 2700 members in 75 countries reflect a substantial global network of spa professionals, service providers and product manufacturers. -The Office of Travel and Tourism Industries (OTTI) – part of U.S. Department of Commerce’s International Trade Administration - recorded 28.8 million U.S. travelers who went abroad in 2005. This number reflects a 5% increase over out-bound travelers in 2004. India experienced a 33% growth in U.S. visitation between 2004 and 2005, also based on OTTI records. -The Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) noted a 13.5% increase in international in-bound visitor arrivals to India from January - August 2004 (2,454,352 arrivals), to January – August 2005, (2,785,328 arrivals). -In the just-released 2007 Fourth Annual Spa Trends Report, (from Spa Finders Inc.) “Ayurveda” was listed as a “Spa Buzz Word.” It states, “Spa guests are … welcoming education about local cultures and healing traditions and looking for holistic commitment…”. It also states, “Medical wellness and cosmetic med spas are doing booming business by filling certain critical gaps in the traditional health care system. In 2007 more people will travel to another city, state or country for medical spa experiences creating a new trend: medical tourism.” From Facts to You What does all this mean to you – the North American Travel Professional? First, it urges you to be a wellness/spa traveler yourself. Renew your sparkle. Have an ayurvedic massage. Practice yoga at dawn. You will experience what the French mean by “feeling good in your skin.” Second, book your clients in the land of ayurveda and yoga. Send them to India. Advise them confidently with the following overview of wellness and spa hotels. And one day soon, book yourself to India as well. You shall encounter the truth behind its moniker, “Incredible India.” Wellness Tourism in India Abundant facilities and reasonable fares await in India. Her offerings range from tasteful boutique urban properties to princely residences atop mountain-peaks; from therapeutic centers to hideaways framed by the Ganges; and coastal retreats lapped by the Arabian Sea, Indian Ocean and Bay of Bengal. For Travel World News, this writer covered two North Indian spas: Ananda in the Himalayas, in Uttaranchal state in March ’06, (named ‘2005 Best Destination Spa’ by Conde Nast Traveler); and The Oberoi Wildflower Hall perched at 8200 feet in the lofty Himalayas, in Himachal Pradesh state in April ’06, (received ‘2005 4 • TRAVEL WORLD NEWS • DECEMBER 2006
THE PROFITABLE WORLD OF NICHE MARKETS London World Travel Mart Award’). The following two North Indian retreats are very worthy of note, as are the two in Southern India. All are diverse, as is India herself. The Punjab In the northwestern state of Punjab, not far from the stellar Sikh Golden Temple is WH Ranjit’s Svaasa, an intimate luxury boutique spa. Svaasa means both ‘inspiration’ and ‘breath of life.’ This inviting gem truly reflects its name. It is located on Amritsar’s prestigious Mall Road. Part of the WelcomHeritage Collection Group of palaces, forts, ancestral homes and resorts that reflect the architectural heritage of India, Svaasa is located in a haveli, Rai Bahadur Rattan Chand’s ancestral mansion. It dates back seven generations. Amritsar and this noted family are intertwined, and today, family trusts support a school for the blind, a cow-shed (with more than 200 cows), a temple and a charitable clinic. WH Ranjit’s Svaasa is the elegant “home away from home” choice of diplomats, elites, and international travelers. But Ranjit’s focus extends beyond the inherent responsibilities of a recognized family. She is committed to Svaasa’s nurturing, non-smoking and organic environment. In the Svaasa Spa Pavillion, 15 ayurvedic therapies are offered, a large menu for a small facility. Solar panels heat water, and water-based, odorless paint covers walls. Fresh milk from the cow-shed arrives daily and complements her organic fare. Each of the 17 rooms features unique colors with patios or balconies, oriented to capture the essential energies of Indian ‘energy flow practice’ known as “vaastu.” WH Ranjit’s Svaasa is an oasis of quiet amidst the city’s roar. It is a small place with a big soul. (10-20% commissions on room tariff only). Along The Ganges River Snuggled below the Devprayag Road and banked by the revered Ganges River, the Himalayan Hideaway resides quietly. Its lush countryside embraces a handful of stone buildings that gently cascade across the property. They house the resort’s public areas and eight of its nine private rooms. Mine is the ninth, nestled in its own stone cottage closer to the Ganges. All is peaceful here. Nature’s acoustics resound: ‘gurgles’ from the Ganges, insect conversations at night, high-pitched alarm of an Asian barking deer. (Their antlers and stature are smaller than North American deer.) Spacious bathrooms, tasteful furnishings, in-room heaters, and constant how water flow co-exist with the mellow, rustic design at Himalayan Hideaway. In Outlook Traveler Survey 2005, Himalayan Hideaway is noted on its “List of Worthies”, in the “Small Hotel” category. Svaasa’s beautiful north entrance courtyard. Stone-lined paths lead to a ‘sit-out’ near an open-pit fire that blazes now for winter warmth. Conversation, climate and laughter turn strangers into friends. These paths lead to the region’s first “eco-garden” - a plant collection of flora and fauna unique to the north-west Himalayas, and turns towards the Chakra Abode, a twostory cottage where simple ayurvedic massage reigns. Therapists are called from town. No rush, they arrive. All is in order. Everything is peaceful. Rural so refreshes, urban often depresses. “Environmentalist” is Himalayan Hideaway’s motto: “Take Nothing but Photos. Leave Nothing but Footprints.” A few days and I am ready to live here. But I do borrow a Ganges river rock until I return. Should I need to do anything else, kayaking, rafting, walking, climbing, bird watching, angling, rappelling, and hiking are offered. Their sister camp is the legendary Himalayan River Runners, India’s first rafting company. I can partake of these activities, but I don’t. I opt for this lovely quiet. Himalayan Hideaway is an organic abode of tranquility. (10% agent’s commission) Hi-Tech to Holistic Outside Bangalore Soukya is a residential holistic health and integrative medical center situated on a 30-acre organic farm in the tranquil, unpolluted countryside. It is sufficiently outside the urban high-tech mecca into which the pretty city of Bangalore has evolved (some 13 miles away). Its name means “wellness”. That is exactly what Soukya offers. In October this year Soukya was rated “Best Place for Natural Cure” by India Today, the Time magazine of India. The Chairman, Medical and Managing Director is Dr. Isaac Mathai, a renowned holistic physician and CONTINUED ON PAGE 6 SOUKYA DECEMBER 2006 • TRAVEL WORLD NEWS • 5
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4-1206-Niche Markets.qxp - Travel World News

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