Avainsana: Wellness tourism

Julkaistu

The calming effects of water

How often do you think that the everyday life with all the work, studies, chores etc. is getting all too much for you? How often do you wish for an escape from your everyday life? I bet most of you answered that a break from the everyday life would be much needed as often as possible. So did I. So where should you go when you feel like the stress of the daily routines is getting too much for you? You should definitely find your way to the nearest body of water, whether it is a lake, a river or a sea does not matter, you should find your way to it. Even though you might think that a visit to a nearby shore does really not fit your busy schedule or it doesn’t sound like it would be any help to you, you’d be surprised how big of an effect it might have on your mental and physical health.

You might think that sitting on a shore and doing nothing would be a really boring way of spending your time, but it actually is one of the best ways of relaxing your brain. Just watching the water surface, whether it is calm or rough, can really help you to relax and find that much sought after peace of mind for the short time that you are next to water. Of course, our brains control all the senses of human body, and seeing is not the only thing that can help our brains to relax. Listening to the calming voice of the water as well as smelling the, lets say, ocean air can really make your brains just switch of for a second and you will be able to totally relax just from being near a body of water.

Of course just sitting and admiring the water might not be for everyone, but that is not the only way you can improve your mental and physical health when visiting a body of water. Water enables multiple different activities that are beneficial for both mind and body. Exercises and activities in general are very good for both mental and physical health, but adding the water aspect to the exercises can boost that positive effect even more. Swimming for example is not only a great form of exercise for the muscles of the body, but it also is beneficial for the health of your skin as well as it is beneficial for your mind. The sort of flowing feeling of freedom you get from swimming is ideal for your brains to relax.

Other water activities, such as surfing or wakeboarding for example, are also great ways of escaping the routine and switching of for a second, but all the activities do not have to be physical activities. Going for a boat ride or going fishing might not be a form of exercise, but those type of activities are an ideal way of relaxing. Think about it; you are flowing on the middle of a quiet lake on a boat, there is no one anywhere near and you can just enjoy the sound of nature. Sounds pretty good, doesn’t it?

That is something that we all should seek after, make some room from our busy schedules for finding different ways of relaxing our body and mind, since without those breaks, we really can not manage.

Text: Markus Järvinen, second year International Tourism Management student
Pictures: Unsplash

Julkaistu

Wellness travel – a healthier holiday

When you think about holiday, about booking a trip, what is the first thing that comes to your mind? For most of the people nowadays, including me, it means that I will have some fun, visit places, make memories like photos and videos, and forget about work and stress that are present in my life. However, it is not always like that because many travelers come back from their holidays more tired than when they left, wishing for a new holiday.

Why this happens?

We have a misconception that we need to make the most out of our trips, like for example taking long tours that exhaust us, visiting all the places in a destination, and in general overwhelming ourselves by busy schedules, often forgetting about rest and relaxation.

I don’t need to mention the technology and social media platforms that takes a lot of our time even when we are on a holiday. It is very trendy nowadays to share every small thing that happens on our trips on Instagram or Facebook, and we forget that snapping our meals, taking 99 selfies or paying attention to our edits takes time and we end up participating in our activities less then we think, reducing our quality time by stalking the phone.

Photo: Unsplash.com

What can we do about it?

Many studies explain why vacations help us get rid of the stress and increase our sense of well-being. Of course, if we consider well-being when we book our holiday, the first step that we can do is to appreciate the vacation and its meaning.

It is definitely a great idea to visit many places and take many photos, but this can be made by keeping in mind that we just can’t be present in every point on the map. In conclusion, a good solution is to start by reducing the number of visits to those attractions that we are interested in. Getting enough sleep during our holiday is also important to recharge our batteries and planning a lazy day is a great idea.  If we are rested when we come back, it will help us to be motivated and perform better in our lives and work. Some people set their flights back on the day before their work starts and it’s always a good idea to put a gap between, like one day to settle in and catch up with the day-to-day routine. (Website of Life Hack, 2021)

A second step is to educate ourselves more on what wellness tourism means and how to get more from our holidays by paying more attention to well-being. Going on a trip doesn’t mean that we need to skip our gym sessions, or to eat and drink whatever we want without thinking on how it can affect us. Wellness retreats help travelers to nourish their bodies and mind, and boost the level of personal wellness.

Photo: Unsplash.com

Practicing yoga, taking Pilates classes or sport in any form will bring balance to our body and mind and will help us to get rid of the stress (website of Corporate Wellness magazine, 2019). Personally, I am planning my next holiday in a spa resort, where I can benefit from healthier food, massage and spa treatments and why not, a digital detox. Breaking unhealthy habits and meeting like-minded people, who have the same goal will improve our lifestyle and we can come back with a new mindset.

What is wellness tourism?

Wellness travel is a segment of the tourism industry that refers mainly to people who book their holidays in order to reduce their stress, relax and forget about day-to-day problems. Global Wellness Institute has an official definition for it: “travel associated with the pursuit of maintaining or enhancing one’s personal wellbeing”

The economy of wellness tourism grows by approximately 6.5% every year and reached $634 billion in 2017. The increasing interest of travelers in a better and healthier lifestyle made wellness tourism to double its growth compared to the entire tourism industry.

Picture: Wellness Corporate Magazine

Europeans present the highest interest in well-being, followed by the Asians and North Americans. Spa tourism is the leading sector representing 48% of the global wellness registering $300 billions in expenditure with over 450 million trips booked.

By 2022 it is estimated that wellness tourism will reach $919 billions in expenditure because hospitality and travel businesses try to develop new strategies daily in order to offer new services, products or experiences for the travelers. (Global Wellness Tourism Economy, 2018)

Text: Bogdan Enacica, second year International Tourism Management student


References:

Global Wellness Tourism Economy. 2018.
Website of Corporate Wellness magazine. 2019. https://www.corporatewellnessmagazine.com/article/wellness-tourism-well-worth-trip
Website of Health Line. 2020. https://www.healthline.com/health/post-vacation-blues
Website of Life Hack. 2021. https://www.lifehack.org/640266/why-do-i-need-a-vacation-from-my-vacation

Julkaistu

Are blue spaces cure to feeling blue?

In the wellness tourism industry there is talk about so called blue spaces. What are those exactly? Well, blue spaces are referred as spaces with open water. So, trip to the coastline or riverside would be considered as visiting blue spaces. They also include ponds, springs, waterfalls and even spas.

We live in a highly modernized world with next to no connection to the nature at least in the big cities. No wonder people are stressed and unhappy all the time. Work is hectic and one can’t practise selfcare enough or do it the right way. Sure, eating or drinking your feelings is a way to manage them in a pinch but in a long run it’s only harmful to you and people around you. The last thing you should want is to be a burden to the people you love to an overly exhorted way. But stress can be hard to manage on your own, so it’s human to try to release it which ever way takes it away the fastest.

 So, why don’t we experiment…

Imagine you arriving to a remote riverside in search of a way to pause your busy life. This is what you see, take a good look at the picture below.

Source: Pixabay

You can see the clear blue water gently rushing by hugging the land around it. You can hear the calming song of the water as it passes you by welcoming you to its presence, inviting you to take a deep breath. You can smell the fresh water in the air with luscious forest around you.

After taking the mandatory Instagram picture you sit down and gaze at the water and maybe get curious about how cold the water is. By touching it you find out its quite chilly but pleasant. The sight, sound and smell of the environment has called you back to where you once belonged. Taking a few more deep breaths filled with fresh air, you can feel the stress melting away.

How did that make you feel?

According to studies blue spaces have a positive effect on the human psychology and wellbeing and they are linked with health and happiness. Mental health is important especially during this pandemic time and going back to nature could be one of the solutions to increase it. Being around aquatic environments has mood increasing properties such as generally being in a better mood and reducing stress and negative moods. Visibility of blue spaces have a lowering impact on psychological distress. This fact could be used in the future when planning cities or it could be a part of one’s moving criteria. The happiest people are said to be those living near a blue space, especially near the ocean.

All in all blue spaces are worth taking a look at when trying to de-stress or pause for a bit. Mental heath is an important force for people to have the strength to keep going in a world that doesn’t sleep. Remembering to take care of yourself increases happiness and peace of mind.

Text: Kia Aroautero, Tourism student from Haaga-Helia.
Kia took part in SAMK’s online course Well-being from Blue Spaces via CampusOnline.

Inspirational sources:

Hunt, E. 2019. Blue spaces: why time spent near water is the secret of happiness. The Guardian.

Pasanen, T. Mathew P. White, Benedict W. Wheeler, Joanne K. Garrett, Lewis R. Elliott, 2019. Neighbourhood blue space, health and wellbeing: The mediating role of different types of physical activity. Science Direct.

Pawlowski, A. 2016a. Updated 2019. Blue spaces beat green spaces when it comes to mental health, study finds. Today.

Pawlowski, A. 2019b. How does nature affect mental health? Living close to park linked with happiness. Today.