‘This year will be wellness year’

With importance of wellness being felt more after Covid-19, hotels are creating wellness packages, says Gagan Katyal, Head of Sales and Marketing, Ananta Hotels and Resorts.

Janice Alyosius

India’s tourism industry stands to benefit greatly from the growth of wellness tourism. Gagan Katyal, Head of Sales and Marketing, Ananta Hotels and Resorts, says that the past two years have been traumatic, and everyone is anxious to return to a normal and healthy life.

“This is an ideal time for wellness tourism to grow. This year will be a bumper year for wellness tourism perceiving the ongoing trend,” Katyal said.

He said the major contributing factors behind the success of India in wellness tourism may include ayurveda, yoga, geography, trained manpower and developed infrastructure. “We have a team of specialised staff that works hard to provide our guests with the best service. We are studying and developing the current facilities to achieve that edge. Our locations are serene and thus create a favourable atmosphere to be chosen for wellness,” he added.

The Ministry of Tourism (MOT) has formulated a National Strategy and Roadmap for Medical and Wellness Tourism in order to create a robust framework and synergy among the central government ministries, state governments and private sector for promoting India as a medical and wellness tourism destination. Katyal said that financial assistance is one of the challenges that the government needs to address on priority, since the tourism and hospitality industries have been badly hit. Currently, Ananta hotels is working on campaigns and packages to offer guests wholesome experience of wellness and experiential stay. Katyal said that wellness tourism segment has accelerated around the world and is quite popular among Indian domestic and inbound travellers. “Developing and offering wellness facilities and consultations is a serious subject for them, and they are working very hard to do so,” he added.