Hotel guests now need more than a body scrub and a foot massage to feel pampered when they stay at a five star resort. Travellers are now opting for whole body checkups, complete with an on-site physician and dietician to make sure they are receiving the ultimate treatment during their vacation.
For years, resorts have offered spas and other amenities that promote relaxation and happiness, but now some hotels, resorts, and spas are directly entering into medical tourism by offering programs that partner with hospitals and other health professionals to provide a completely holistic wellness experience.
Photo Credit: Shangri-La’s Rasa Sayang Resort & Spa
“Ten years ago, no one ever though of having a spa in a hotel,” says Dr. Yan Ang, Adventist Hospital’s lifestyle centre director and associate professor. “Now, every major hotel or resort has a spa. Now we have to ask, ‘What’s the next step after the spa?’”
Penang Adventis Hospital recently partnered with Shangri-la’s Rasa Sayang Resort and Spa located in Batu Feringgi Beach in Penang to bring the Wellness Escape Programme. The program includes what any spa offers; yoga, meditation, massages, wraps, scrubs- but also a wellness screening from a Penang Adventis Hospital physician.
The screening is performed upon arrival, and is used to determine exactly how to best serve the guests’ needs. “Hotel guests usually come to resorts to get pampered. That’s what spas do. Now, we are saying to them, ‘Wait a moment, since you are away from work now, you may really take this time to reflect on your health. We’re combining the holiday aspect of the guests’ stay at the hotel with the preventive medicine aspect,” says Dr. Yan.
A similar program called the Multifaceted Wellness Program was launched earlier this year at the Peninsula Hotel in Bangkok, Thailand, where guests can choose between Rest, Relax, and Rejuvenate or Weight Management emphases. The luxury hotel partnered with BNH Hospital, one of the first private hospitals in Thailand, which is just a 15 minute drive away from the hotel.
The wellness programmes start from THB 30,500 net per person and includes a check-up with a doctor from BNH Hospital as well as a consultation with an on-site nutritionist. The program also ties in a cultural element, inviting guests to join a Thai cooking class as well as a trip to a local Bangkok market.
“Most of the travellers who are interested in our wellness programmes are from Hong Kong, Europe, including Russia,” says Katja Henke, General Manager of The Peninsula Bangkok. “However, we have started seeing inquiries from travellers within this region.”
Photo Credit: The Peninsula Bangkok
In 2014, Thailand had 3.1 million inbound medical travellers and was listed in the top 12 countries for medical tourism, according to the Global Wellness Institute.
“Since each of these programmes is all-inclusive, they attract not only medical travellers, but also couples and female travellers who would like to spend their holidays with a health-conscious twist, making for a more productive holiday,” says Henke.
The Peninsula Hotel Bangkok offers six various wellness programmes focusing on a specific health concern. In the future, they’re looking to introduce a wellness programme that incorporates the ‘Naturally Peninsula’ cuisine in the programme, where meals are made from freshly prepared and combined locally and sustainable sourced ingredients, organic seasonings and homemade sauces and condiments.
Photo Credit: The Peninsula Bangkok
But hotels aren’t just offering Western medicine as part of their wellness programmes, some are pampering their guests with Traditional Chinese Medicine at their resorts.
When staying at the Four Seasons Hotel Beijing, guests are offered consultation and treatments from Dr. Lan Jirui, a former Orthopaedic Surgeon who is trained in both Western and Eastern medicine.
Photo Credit: Four Seasons Hotel Beijing
“People have been enjoying different holistic wellness packages on vacation for many years however now it has become much more common and in some cases the main purpose of travel,” says Cassandra Forrest, Director of Spa at the Four Seasons Hotel Beijing. “People will come hoping to heal a problem that they have had for a while and looking for alternative solutions or relief.”
Photo Credit: Four Seasons Hotel Beijing
Beyond the spa, offering medical treatment to hotel guests is becoming more mainstream as hotels and resorts partner with local hospitals and doctors. “It is always great to go home from vacation rested,” says Forrest, “but to go home physically mentally and spiritually lifted that is something many people need these days.”