LIFE EXTENSION WELLNESS TOURISM TOBAGO.pdf 1

Recovery & Wellness Tourism in Trinidad & Tobago
3
Wellness tourism is a term that has been used more frequently in recent years. Its definitional
complexity lies in the elusive nature of what the word 'wellness' itself actually incorporates.
There are relative consensus among researchers, hotel management and travel agents that optimum
wellness comes from a balance between wellbeing in the body, the mind and the spirit. However, the
concept of wellness clearly means different things in different contexts and countries. The wellestablished
tradition of bathing in spa waters in Europe is far removed from the spiritual traditions of
Asia, and different again from more modern forms of wellness, such as occupational psychology
workshops or cosmetic surgery holidays.
The 'spa and eco tourism' has been the main focus of much tourism operators and also sectoral
uptake, as most top-end hotels have responded to tourist needs. In essence, the spa has been the
longest-established part of any tourism industry, but has been revitalised as part of recent health and
wellness consumer trends. I recalled when some hotel business first started out, they marketed their
business and accommodations as Fun in the Sun, people want more than this advert, they need
excitement, adventure, wellness, culture and to immerse themselves in activities with taste, people,
and beneficial knowledge that makes a difference in their lives pertaining to wellness.
Much has been written about the rise in consumption of complementary and alternative therapies,
yoga, meditation and society's preoccupation with health and fitness. New forms of tourism
destinations, resorts and retreat centres are rapidly appearing to meet this new consumer demand
However, the wellness sector is broad and comprises of a range of provision ranging from basic
ashrams in India focusing on spiritual enlightenment, British-run yoga retreat centres on the Greek
islands, up-market 'pampering hotels', to traditional health-related spas around other parts of the
world, one area that has not been focused on by hotels is disease management and cure.
The GDS or Global Distribution System refers to the reservation tool travel agents use when
making an air, hotel, car or other travel service booking. And not only do GDSs power the content of
‘traditional’ travel agency platforms, but they also provide pricing, availability and reservation
functionality to many online travel agencies. These TA’s are the pit bulls whom are feed by
commissions and promotions, and by having the a product which is in demand, they push it out there
to all their clients, especially the baby boomers.
Amadeus LinkHotel is a multi-GDS services company which distributes your inventory and content to
the world’s global distribution systems – Amadeus, Sabre, Travelport (Galileo and Worldspan).
With one simple connection to Amadeus LinkHotel, hotels will be available to be booked by hundreds
of thousands of GDS travel professionals who generate millions of room nights each year, having a
hotel with a branded service which is relatively new to the industry, such as Life Extensions Wellness
Boutiques in Tobago hotels, there is a good chance of attracting the TA’s clientele to Tobago
destination once packaged right and once these hotels are marketing together the trends in recovery
& wellness travels.
This document aims not only to express how the wellness sector is emerging and offers insight into a
new aspect of wellness tourism, that of the 'retreat'. In particular, the perspective of the retreat
operator and tourism authorities is being presented an untapped niche of wellness tourism, “Disease
Management & Cure”, hence our product we present, “Life Extension Wellness Boutiques” for hotels
interested in this franchise. Unhealthy individuals with travel experiences and health challenges will
clearly identify with this new tourism product and which will be marketed through the GDS of 750.000
travel agents and www.mailpound.com.
The key aim here is to deconstruct the wellness, health and medical tourism terminology away from its
often inappropriately broad and interchangeable usage, by offering individuals a chance not only to