2009 Trends for Spas in India

While attending the Medical Tourism Association's Congress event last September, it was very clear that India is a powerhouse in the industry with its confluence of high-tech medicine, traditional healing and an abundance of tourist attractions.

India possesses an abundance of Englisih speaking, highly skilled labor, an exotic culture and time-tested healing practices that make it massively appealing to Westerners. Interestingly enough, India was at the forefront of providing ease of access and entry into the country by virtue of the medical visas - many other other countries, such as Turkey, have taken note. By fully optimizing the interest in India's traditional healing, the country is ripe for spa growth and the cross over of health tourism where medical and spa visits converge. This caught the eye of SpaFinder.

Below are excerpts from the SpaFinder blog. (I've edited the material down for easier readability)

The spa industry in India currently boasts over 2,300 spas, generating revenue representing approximately USD $384 million annually. Initiatives are underway to train spa personnel to meet the growing demand for these 2300+ spas, and for the hundreds more that are likely to establish themselves in the next five to ten years. While the Indian spa market is still a modest sliver of the overall $60-billion-plus core global spa economy, India is poised to attract significantly more western tourists (particularly on the medical/wellness travel front)…as well as continue to develop its own vibrant, indigenous spa market at a heady pace. With over 700 spas predicted to open doors in the next 2-4 years, there’s no doubt that the spa industry in India is growing fast.

Emerging trends in the booming Indian spa market in 2009:

Ayurveda Represent Serious Business: Yoga, one of the most profitable wellness modalities in the word, is a lifestyle for millions of people who are enthusiastic about traveling to the spiritual and cultural source: India. Spas in India will continue to expand their Ayurvedic menus, for both overseas clientele who want to experience authentic Ayurvedic therapies--as well as for locals already familiar with the benefits, or who wish to adopt their own Indian healing traditions. As state tourism departments promote and package Ayurveda, look for new legislation mandating scientific methods and quality control, trained therapists, Ayurvedic doctors and license certifications.

Alternative Healing: Alternative healing has always been a traditional part of the Indian cultural milieu. Spas will strive to offer holistic, organic elements in treatments, as well as emphasize mind-body-spirit connections and advocate eventual lifestyle changes.

The Spa-Savvy Indian Male: The urban Indian male increasingly wants to look good and feel good: and now seeks wellness treatments—like Champissage (head massage) and full-body massage on a regular basis—as well as grooming treatments and products.

Love of Luxury: The affluent Indian consumer loves brands. To cater to the brand-conscious consumer, local Indian spas will increasingly establish themselves as multi-city spa brands and local spa products will expand globally.

Medical Tourists: India will continue to be a hot spot for medical tourists that seek travel services that incorporate diverse wellness packages, including those that couple medical procedures with spa indulgences, ayurvedic treatments or cultural immersion experiences. India occupies a unique and enviable position with a globally recognized and well-respected medical establishment generating English-speaking, highly qualified doctors.

Aesthetic Treatments: Look for an uptick in medical spas, dental spas and cosmetic clinics that cater to both locals and traveling medical tourists.

The Spa Tween-Teen Year: Spas and cosmetic clinics will continue to roll out specific treatments for pre-teens and teens by offering acne-treatment facials, teen-focused massages, mother-daughter specials, glitter manicures etc.

Bollywood: Look for more Bollywood stars to inculcate the importance of spa-going in their own lives. The spa-going behavior of Hollywood celebrities has significantly helped publicize the benefits of spas in the West…so expect the same impact on the industry from Bollywood stars.

Culture, Myth, History Catch Spa Fancy: Spas of India are fashionably designed around Indian history, astrology and values dedicated to indigenous culture, myth, materials and design. Some spas provide regionally-specific treatments --others have introduced regionally-specific building materials like marble or stone—while others feature ‘leharia’ folk art patterns; Indian love swings and Rajput water gardens, ‘Madhubani’ paintings or Mughal landscaping and architecture.

For the full length article go to http://blog.spafinder.com/

108 Bows - Health and Spirituality

I admit one evening I was channel surfing and came upon a show on the Korean channel that appeared to be a documentary about "108 Bows". Fortunately, there were sub-titles. In essence, what I derived from the show was the bowing is good for your physical health by building up the abdominal wall, strengthing the body, and increasing circulation. (Thermal imaging and other diagnostic measurements were used on test subjects. ) Bowing also appeared to have emotional benefits of increased concentration, mental clarity, and creating an overall feeling of calmness and well-being. Test subjects included high school students diagnosed with ADD who had been unmovitated, uncooperative and unruly.

The bowing itself has a certain form, rhythm and focuses on breathing technique. (See:http://www.kwanumzen.com/practice/bowing.html)
From another website: The way you do bowing in temples is touching five points of your body to the floor. They are: both knees, both elbows, and the forehead. "108 bows for exercise is just the thing for us. It's exercise for the whole body, low intensity breathing exercise, and it's exercise which is suitable for treating and preventing adult diseases. It takes only 15 minutes to do 108 bows, but the effect is great. http://www.koreanbuddhism.net/life/essay_view.asp?cat_seq=25&content_seq=420&priest_seq=0&page=1


For those skeptical of this practice, because it is either foreign or seems irrelevant in today's fast-paced, highly technologically based society, almost every race and religion has their own practice of bowing. More on this subject through wikipedia.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bowing_(social)

The National Institute of Health, through their department of Complementary and Alternative Medicine, has a series of online courses that physicians, nurses or lay-people may access. Classes are 1 hour in length ( CME & CEU credit given after successful completion) and touch upon Mind & Body, The Role: of Accupuncture, Prayer, Meditation, Chiropractic, Herbalism and a variety of other topics. There is also a library of clinical trials regarding CAM. Go to: http://www.nih.gov/

Top Internet Searched Surgeries

While most savvy consumers searching for medical information on the Internet, they also seeking healthcare providers to treat their particular illness. As you probably already know, the Internet is one of the major marketing vehicles to medical tourism and I found it interesting that AOL has collected and summarized these consumer patterns in an article.

Some medical tourism businesses that are looking to expand their offering, might find this interesting while others may have already secured and distilled more complex data pertinent to their focused area of expansion.

Take it for what it is worth, at a glance, it is still interesting information.

Below are the Top Searched Surgeries on AOL Search:
1. Eyelid surgery
2. Lap band surgery
3. Gastric bypass surgery
4. Cataract surgery
5. Bariatric surgery
6. Lasik surgery
7. Tummy tuck surgery
8. Knee surgery
9. Gall bladder surgery
10. Prostate surgery

The Pharmacy of Santa Maria Novella

Years ago my mother visited and brough me back "Aqua di Colonia" in a stout rectangular glass bottle with an embossed gold label. The distinctive packaging harkened back to a much earlier time and having majored in history and art history for my undergraduate work, I found the monastic pharmacy intriguing. In doing some simple research, I learned that that pharmacy of Santa Maria Novella in Florence Italy was established by the Dominican fathers in 1221. The pharmacy, based on herbalism, developed a wide-range of products from cologne to smelling salts, cleaning agents, candles and so on. The Dominicans used rose water as an anticeptic to clean homes stricken with the plague and interestingly enought, the product is still being sold (but now used as aromotherapy.)

Santa Maria Novella Pharmacy expanded to the United States on both coasts - in NY and LA.
I found a very good article courtesy of the Smithsonian with some excerpts below.

...Also among the early creations were tonics reflecting the sensibility of the times: the imaginatively named "Vinegar of the Seven Thieves," for example, was a popular remedy for women suffering from "fainting fits." The vinegar is still available for those in need of a quick pick-me-up. Also available to Florentine ladies was a concoction designed to calm "hysterical women." It, too, is still on the shelves, bearing the innocuous name Santa Maria Novella Water—now recommended for its "antispasmodic properties."

The operation's manufacture of perfumes was apparently key to winning the allegiance of its most famous customer, Catherine de' Medici.The pharmacy created a new fragrance for her, a perfume that became known as acqua della regina, or "water of the queen." In due course, Catherine's patronage proved the making of the place.

The growth of the business was not welcomed by all; unease among some monks that the sweet smell of success might distract from the Christian pieties led to a temporary shutdown of the production of medicines in the early 1600s. But manufacture resumed in 1612, for a run of two and a half centuries. In 1866 the Italian state confiscated all church property. The move could have been the pharmacy's death knell but for the vision of the last monk to act as its director, Damiano Beni. In a deft move, he handed over control of the enterprise to his layman nephew, who eventually bought it from the state. His descendants remain involved in the business today.

As a secular endeavor, the pharmacy could fully exploit the trends of the times. In the 1700s, it had expanded its product line from distilling medicines and perfumes to manufacturing alcohol. In the 19th century, as alcohol-laden patent medicines and tonics became all the rage in the United States, the pharmacy's liqueur, Alkermes—advertised as a way to "revive weary and lazy spirits"—became a top seller.

Today the pharmacy still occupies its historic quarters, but it has expanded into an international concern, with stores in New York, Los Angeles and Tokyo. Eight years ago it opened a small factory two miles away, where the monks' ancient techniques have been streamlined, but where much of the manufacturing continues to be done by hand. The factory can turn out 500 bars of soap a day in any one of 25 varieties; each bar is then aged for a month before being chiseled by hand into its final shape.

For the complete article, go to:http://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/heaven-scent.html?c=y&page=1