Wellness Post Pandemic
With the pandemic hitting us in early 2020; life as we knew it, came to a standstill. And with the mystery surrounding this virus, also came the fear. New words were added to our vocabulary that we didn’t know, new behaviours had to be adopted & adapted, and everyone started being aware of the invisible enemy. The pandemic also raised awareness of the importance of “wellness” – a state of physical, mental and social wellbeing – in people’s lives.
Destination-wise places known for yoga, meditation and post covid wellness programmes stand to benefit from increased demand. The tourism sector needs to actively improve infrastructure to target wellness tourism to enjoy a particular boost in the post covid era.
Speaking about the benefits of Ayurveda at SATTE 2021, Dr Anand More, Professor, All India Institute of Ayurveda, said, “Ayurveda will definitely help during this covid-19 pandemic. Under Ayurveda, the entire lifestyle which is promoted will rejuvenate the person. Along with rejuvenation, Ayurveda helps in detoxification with the panchakarma treatment. Today, life has become very stressful, and it has been disturbing the body and mind. To help the body, mind and soul, Ayurveda and Yoga are the key and also, they help in increasing immunity. These therapies do not only treat patients but also further helps to immunise fit and healthy individuals.”
Travellers from across the globe are now looking at Ayurveda and wellness tourism during the pandemic to rejuvenate their minds and body. India is the country where Ayurveda originated, and Ayurveda is the bedrock of all alternate medicine practices. With humanity forced to look inwards towards health, relationship, self-consciousness, wellness tourism will see a renewed resurgence. Wellness will be the new leisure, and, in the post covid era, and it is going to be one of the most significant pivots for humanity.
The next generation of travellers in India is looking at wellness tourism as a part of their itineraries which will provide an immense boost to this segment. Also, the awareness amongst this segment is high which will help the industry. People are becoming more demanding on an entirely new set of parameters, hygiene being right on top. The other thing which we believe is that the fundamental concept of the sense of space and design of our industry will also change. People would prefer a holiday which is not in very large and opulent hotels but would appreciate holidays which are more private and offers the luxury of space in the lap of nature.
Presently the wellness industry in India is mainly focused on Resort spas and the type of spa popularity is based on regional preferences. Body massages, skin treatments, beauty/hair treatments, hydrotherapy, manicure/pedicure are more popular in the metros and urban areas, while Ayurveda is the mainstay in Kerala and in South India; India’s spa market is still considered a niche market with great opportunities for investments in day spas and destination spas.
