By Kevin Damaskie
RMOW Policy and Program Development
Ah, these cucumber slices on my eyelids are just making all the stress, tension and troubles of life in 2007 just melt away… thank you for rubbing my feet, I’m now forgetting all about the global climate crisis… I drift off, blissed out and oblivious. Another willing spa victim.
The spa business in Canada is big and getting bigger (see sidebar), and Whistler is poised to become a premier destination in this market’s evolution into what could loosely be called the “beyond spa” market, dubbed “Alpine Wellness.”
Composed of all things Whistler, hiking, biking, snowsports and outdoor recreation in general, plus the typical massage and facial spa experience, Alpine Wellness is a real, renewable business and market opportunity for this well, mountain town.
In fact, this market opportunity is so tied in with Whistler, folks are going to be coming from all over the globe to do what we do all the time. And that is a good thing.
“Whenever you get into something that is germane to the local residents you get the whole community supporting the initiative simply through the way they live their lives,” says Arlene Schieven, Tourism Whistler’s Vice President of Marketing. “Whistler and our citizens set a pretty high benchmark for what people think is a healthy, active outdoor lifestyle.”
According to Dr. Peter Williams of Simon Fraser University, health and wellness tourism is: “leisure, recreational and educational activities removed from the distractions of work and home that use tourism products and services designed to promote and enable customers to improve and maintain their health and well-being.”
Tourism Whistler has gone so far as to create a Health and Wellness Tourism strategy for 2007-2009. It addresses the opportunities, supported by Whistler’s natural and built assets, to support mind, body and spiritual fitness. It also includes a definition of this market relative to Whistler: “Travel, particularly to the mountains, for the purpose of improving and maintaining one’s health and well-being — mentally, physically and spiritually.”
Great, I’m in.
That said, organizers of the Whistler Wellness Week, which wrapped up in mid-May and is scheduled next year for May 24-30, are basking in the post-event alpenglow of a highly successful second annual event. Co-organizer Glen Iles, of Wellness Events, says Wellness Week will “organically grow” into a quality Whistler festival ranking up there with Cornucopia, the World Ski and Snowboard Festival and Crankworx. All tolled, these events draw guests to the resort at non-peak times, focus clearly on what we have and do well and diversify our tourism economy. Hiking, biking and yoga-ing our way to economic sustainability.
“We have an incredible amount of world-class talent in this area as far as teachers and program developers,” says Iles, with a tip of his wellness hat to partners Darlene Samer and Roxanne Chappell. “Whistler is a fabulous place and has nothing but positive opportunity when it comes to this market.”
Diana Mulvey, who does Community Relations with lululemon athletica and lives and works in Whistler, says her company is very in touch with the Alpine Wellness client and Whistler is the perfect place to promote as an ultimate wellness destination.
“I think this market is all about making the most of the mountain playground that we live in and making the wellness factors derived from it a primary focus,” says Mulvey. “Look around, we can go for a crazy trail run in the morning, ride singletrack in the afternoon and then hit the spa for a massage and some high end body work. In Whistler, we’ve got it all.”
Thanks to everyone who is helping to make Whistler an increasingly sustainable and successful community. To KNOW MORE about other actions that are moving our community toward Whistler2020, or to find out how we’re performing visit www.whistler2020.ca. To suggest a story idea, get involved with Whistler2020, or to suggest actions for task force consideration, email whistler2020@whistler.ca .
SIDEBAR: SPA FACTOIDS
Tourism Whistler has identified the ‘alpine wellness’ market as a growth opportunity and will market Whistler as the premiere North American health and wellness alpine resort.
• In 2005, approximately 18% (424) of Canada’s spas were located in BC.
• BC had the highest percentage (28%) of resort/hotel spas in Canada in 2005.
• BC spas had combined revenue of approximately $160 million dollars in
2005; while the average BC spa had revenues of approximately $374,800 and a profit margin of 12%.
• Spa Locations:
It is estimated that there were just over 2,300 spa locations in
Canada at the time of this study (March 2006) operated by roughly 2,100 companies. Day spa is by far the largest category accounting for three quarters of all spas in Canada. The second largest segment is resort/hotel spas, followed by medical spas, destination spas and club spas/mineral springs spas.
• Ontario is far and away the largest province accounting for 44% of all Canadian spas. British Columbia and
Quebec are the next largest.
• Revenues:
In 2005, the Canadian spa industry generated just over $1 billion.
• Employment:
As of March 2006, there were an estimated 25,900 people employed by the spa industry. Of these, 60% are full-time, 25% are part-time and 15% are on contract. On average, spas pay 39% of their revenues to payroll.
• Spa Visits: In 2005, spa-goers made an estimated 14.1 million visits to Canadian spas. Half of these visits were taken to spas in Ontario and four out of five spa visits in Canada were made to day spas.
2006 Canadian Spa Sector Profile. The Canadian Tourism Commission (CTC) (2006) (website)
