WHY ‘WELL TRAVELLED’ HAS A NEW MEANING「一趟精采的旅程」今年將有全新的意義

KATE SPRINGER details the latest trends in health and wellness tourism – from silent spas to DNA sampling Kate Springer介紹保健養生旅遊的最新潮流，從靜默水療至遺傳基因取樣等，式式俱備

The word wellness means different things to different people: it might bring to mind exercise, nutrition, work-life balance, mindfulness… but for the travel industry, it means opportunity. Lots of it.

According to the Global Wellness Institute’s 2017 Global Wellness Economy Monitor report, wellness travel is a US$563 billion (HK$4.4 trillion) global market that’s expanding at a rate of 6.8 per cent a year. That’s twice as fast as the 3.4 per cent year- on-year growth in general tourism – and wellness travel is expected to top US$800 billion (HK$6.2 trillion) by 2020.

‘ The old model of travel, the one that’s been around for the past century, was always associated with travel as excess – partying, drinking, eating, staying up late and coming back feeling worse than you did when you left,’ says Beth McGroarty, director of research at the Global Wellness Institute.

‘ The smartphone appeared in 2008 and, in my opinion, that completely transformed the world. It destroyed the work-life balance and stressed us all out. Life has become like a triage situation – people want to go to a place to recover, unplug, feel better and feel healthier.’

Wellness, as defined by the Global Wellness Institute, is ‘the active pursuit of activities, choices and lifestyles that lead to a state of holistic health’. But why now? Hongkongers have always worked long hours (a 2016 study by UBS, a bank, reported an average of 50 hours a week – the longest working week in the world), plus a culture of 24/7 stress and millennials seeking healthy experiences are some of the drivers.

This year is going to be a big one for wellness, with everything from spa safaris to DNA testing.

健康養生對不同的人來說著，有不同的意；義 有人會想起運動、營、養工作與生活的平衡，甚至正念……但對旅遊業界而言，它味意 著商機，而是量商且大的機。

根據非牟利養生研究組織Global Wellness Institute發表的《2017年全球健康養生經濟觀察》報告，健康養生旅遊是一個價值5,630億美元（ 4.4兆港元）的全球市場，每年增幅達6.8%，比起一般旅遊 業3.4%的上年同期增幅快兩倍；預期到了2020年，健康養生旅遊的市場總值將超過8,000億美元（ 6.2兆港元）。

Global Wellness Institute研究總監Beth McGroarty指出：「過去一世紀以來流行的旅遊模式，總離不開放縱；人們縱情狂歡，暴飲暴食，玩樂到三更半夜仍不肯就寢期，假結後束 比出發前更覺疲累。」

「智能電話於2008年面世，我認為它對世界帶來了翻天覆地的改變。它摧毀了工作與生活的平衡，令所有人終日處於精神緊張的狀日。生活奏急的節 日益 速，令人們爭相找尋 可以放鬆身心、休養生息的地方，以便重拾更更舒泰 健康的感。覺 」

根據GlobalWellness Institute的定義，健康養生是指「積極尋求致達 整全健康的活動、選擇和生活方式」。但為何現在才形成一股潮流？其中一個原因，是香港人向來工時極長（根據瑞士銀行於2016年進行的一項研究顯示，港人平均每周工作50小時，是全球最長的每周工時） ，加上無日無之的高壓，文化 以及千禧世代崇尚尋求健康體驗，都是形成這股潮流的部分原因。

健康養生旅遊今年將會大放異彩從， 各含 種活動的全套水療療程，以至遺傳基因測試，方式林林總總，讓你隨意挑選最適合自己的體驗。

STUDIES HAVE SHOWN that silence can reduce stress and boost happiness, and wellness companies are catching on. There are already silent yoga and meditation retreats at Las Pirámides in Guatemala and those offered at Spirit Rock in California, and silent dinners at ‘wellness monasteries’ such as Eremito in Italy’s Umbria region.

McGroarty highlights the recently opened Therme Laa (above), a hotel with a dedicated silent spa, in Austria. ‘It’s a contemplative bathing and spa experience,’ says McGroarty. ‘It’s for people who are seeking to completely unplug.’ laspiramidesdelka.com; eremito.com; spiritrock.org; therme-laa.at

研資究料顯，示 默有助減壓和提升快樂感，覺 一些健康養生公司馬上趁此推出相關的項。目 危地馬拉的Las Pirámides靈修中心和美國加州的Spirit Rock禪修中心均可提供默伽和冥想；假期 「養生修道院」如意大利Umbria區的Eremito則供應默晚。餐 McGroarty推介最近開幕的Therme Laa酒店（上圖） ，這家位於奧地利酒的 店特設默水療：中心 「這裡提供思浸浴和水療體驗，適合希完望 全放鬆身心的賓。客 」laspiramidesdelka.com；eremito.com；spiritrock.org；therme-laa.at

ANOTHER TREND IS the reimagining of the spa. Instead of a one-off, 50-minute massage – walk in, lie down, relax, walk out – more hotels and retreats have designed entire spa circuits driven by stories. One example is the NihiOka Spa Safari at Nihi Sumba Island (above) in Indonesia, which is an all-day adventure, beginning with a sunrise hike through countryside and local villages, followed by breakfast, treatments and even a dip in the sea.

McGroarty also points to Six Senses Bhutan, opening this summer, which is the first hospitality experience imagined as a true circuit: guests take a physical and spiritual journey across five distinct lodges. There’s another upcoming project called

Red Mountain Resort, set among a dramatic landscape of volcanoes and glaciers in Iceland. ‘It will be an entire experience of Icelandic myths and scenes, like rain curtains and volcano fire – it’s the idea that a wellness experience is a multi-chapter journey,’ says McGroarty. nihi.com; sixsenses.com; johannestorpe.com/projects/ the-red-mountain-resort

愈愈來多酒店和度假勝地不再因循一直以來例行的一次過50分鐘進「 來、躺下、放鬆、離去」按摩模式，紛紛推出以故為事 主導的全套式水療療。程 以印尼Nihi Sumba Island度假村（上圖）的NihiOka Spa Safari為例，這裡提供一個全日的體驗之旅：日出時分前往郊外及當地村莊遠足，然享後用早餐，接著進行療，程 甚至可在海中暢番泳一 。

McGroarty亦介紹即將在今年夏季開幕的不丹六善酒店，這裡的水療之旅提供首個真正的連環體驗，讓賓客前往酒店在五個地點設置的精緻旅舍，享受身心之旅。此外，即將面世的度假村Red Mountain Resort則坐落在冰島壯麗火山和冰川之間。McGroarty說你：「 可以充分體驗冰島的神話和美，景 既可看到雨幕，亦有火山烈焰，是一趟多元化的健康養生之旅。」nihi.com;sixsenses.com;johannestorpe.com/ projects/the-red-mountain-resort