Spafinder Wellness president Susie Ellis

Spafinder Wellness 365 announced its 2016 Spa & Wellness Top Ten Trends Forecast in a webinar yesterday (12 January), identifying health, fitness, technology and cultural influences that are likely to make their way into the spa world.

This is the 13th year the company has produced the trends report. President Susie Ellis presented the trends along with Spafinder research director Beth McGroarty, who authored the 90-page report.

“We’re committed to mega-trends,” said McGroarty, before introducing what the organisation has deemed to be the biggest trends for spa this year.

1 “Surf’s Up: the new wave of wellness”

The US$130bn surfing and stand-up paddleboard market is having a huge influence on the spa world, with a demographic that is quickly changing, adding more well-educated, high-earning women, said McGroarty.

“Surfing and stand-up paddleboard are becoming one of the world’s hottest wellness travel trends,” she explained.

The inclusion of stand-up paddleboard in the trend also covers the easy wellness connection of paddleboard yoga, which is becoming increasingly popular.

McGroarty pointed to resorts like Komune Bali, that marry a destination spa and wellness resort with surfing classes or Surf Simply in Costa Rica. She also said there are new frontiers in surfing from India to Iceland, as the surfers are always looking for the next big wave.

“Surfing and wellness is just going to grow,” she said. “It’s an obsession – if you get bitten, you become obsessed.”

2. “Sexual Wellbeing: taboo no more”

Sexual wellness will become increasingly important, said McGroarty, whether it’s through sensual fitness like burlesque classes, pole dancing or yoga for better sex, or through orgasmic meditation or alternative fertility centres.

“Every kind of wellbeing is being explored right now,” said McGroarty. “People are getting more serious about wellness.”

She pointed to Sensual Healing Harmony – or Shh – a women’s-only retreat programme that helps women build their confidence and sensuality through workshops and therapies.

Additionally, LGBT travel is changing tourism at a rapid pace, said McGroarty.

3. Temazcal

The temazcal – an indigenous Mexican sweat lodge steeped in tradition and ritual – will be taking centre-stage in the spa world, according to Spafinder.

“This is the year of the temazcal,” said Ellis, explaining that the No. 1 luxury travel trend is that people want local, indigenous, cultural experiences, and that spiritual health is valued alongside physical health.

In much the same way the hammam has expanded well beyond Turkey, “you’re going to see the temazcal go global,” said Ellis.

While the temazcal has its roots in traditional Mexican culture, spas such as Sense by Rosewood or Mission del Sol Resort & Spa are increasingly incorporating contemporary temazcals into their offerings.

4. “Parenting Well: serious spa and wellness for kids”

Parents are turning to the same wellness therapies they use to better their children’s lives, said McGroarty.

A generation facing unprecedented levels of childhood obesity, screen addictions and stress and anxiety is fuelling this trend, and we’re already seeing mindfulness incorporated in schools and kids taking to the mat with yoga classes.

There is a growing trend of ‘bodywork instead of homework’ that focuses on getting kids active, and wellness family vacations will become increasingly important.

“Programmes improving children’s wellbeing will drive the spa and wellness industry, because it just has to,” said Ellis.

5. “The Adrenaline and Zen Cocktail: resetting the mind and body”

High-adrenaline, super-rush experiences paired with deep relaxation will become increasingly popular, said McGroarty.

“There is a profound mind/body impact of combining an adrenaline rush with Zen relaxation,” she explained. “This is not a paradox; it’s a destination.”

Whether it’s driving a racecar on a frozen circuit at Hotel Sacacomie in Canada or taking a symbolic leap at Campowerment, a sleepover camp for adults, the combination of super-extreme and wellness is one that works.

6. “Well-Fests: festivals shift from wasted to wellness”

Music festivals and other events are increasingly incorporating wellness into their lineup, and single-day wellness festivals like The Big Quiet in New York are growing in popularity.

“We’re digitally interconnected, but we’re still lonely,” said McGroarty, and wellness festivals are a way for us to connect in person.

Events like Wanderlust – international, multi-day celebrations of mindful living – or Festival Number 6 in Wales, which incorporates wellness activities like paddleboarding on the estuary into its music and cultural lineup, are becoming increasingly popular worldwide, and group meditation in many forms is a growing trend.

“It’s about being part of an event,” said McGroarty. “Wellness events will be a standard search within travel.”

Also part of the trend: the spa industry’s own Global Wellness Day, an international celebration of wellness set to take place 11 June this year.

7. “On Demand: Uber-izing spa and wellness”

An increased demand for immediacy and expanded hours, combined with more consumers who rely on app-driven services, is fuelling the Uberization of the spa industry, with companies like Zeel and Soothe that offer massage-on-demand growing rapidly.

“I think we’re just seeing the tip of the iceberg,” said Ellis.

Additionally, Ellis said she sees room for both on-location and at-home service to flourish.

“The question is, how can these be combined?” she said.

8. “Skincare gets Seoul-ful: the Korean beauty explosion 2.0”

Korean skincare is exploding as a trend, with stores like Sephora launching entire K-Beauty sections, and Macy’s partnering with Peach & Lily for a bricks-and-mortar store.

Involving a multi-step process involving cleansers, creams, sheet masks, pore treatments, overnight masks, essence oils and more, Korean skincare is already shaking up the way skincare is shown at retail, organising products by steps rather than brands.

“It’s a new paradigm in beauty,” said McGroarty. “It’s proactive rather than reactive, deliberately meditative, and explores self-care as a right, not beauty as a luxury.”

With Korean skincare companies launching 20 to 30 products a month, “the speed and intensity is making Korea a world headquarters for skincare,” said McGroarty.

Additionally, Korean spas also follow a multi-step circuit, said McGroarty, and involve the whole family.

“They’re very social and very affordable,” she said. “This slow, more meditative self-care is a welcome shift and a metaphor for what’s happening in wellness.”

9. “Healthy cruising: the ship of excess has set sail”

Today’s cruise ships are creating some of the largest and most comprehensive spa and wellness facilities in the world, said Ellis, and with cruise ship travel showing a 6.55 per cent annual growth rate, there is an increasing opportunity for wellness to take centre-stage.

Today’s cruise ship spas are no longer in the bowels of the ship, but are front-and-centre, with beautiful designs and lots of natural light. Wellness brands like Canyon Ranch are now on board cruise ships, and a rise in popularity of river cruising offers additional opportunities for growth.

“The marketplace is repositioning around wellness,” said Ellis.

On-shore wellness experiences and voluntourism are also big trends, and wellness cruises could become places of medical tourism, said Ellis.

10. “Workplace Wellness Grows Up: creating a culture of wellness”

Workplace wellness is not new, but is going into a second phase, said McGroarty.

Companies are no longer asking whether workplace wellness makes sense financially, as there have been many studies showing it does, but instead are shifting towards caring about people.

With the average Fortune 500 company spending 80 per cent of its profits on employee medical costs, according to Ellis, there is “a huge opportunity for spa and wellness, because they are going to be looking for people to help them lower those costs.”

Additionally, things like financial wellness, non-standard work hours, mobile working and extreme leave will become increasingly important.

“The culture of wellness will shift to a culture of purpose,” said Ellis.

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