SPAS
La Source de Bien Etre
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Rival hotspot: Languedoc-Roussillon is aiming to rival St Tropez as a new tourism destination
he quality of its wine production has already placed Languedoc-Roussillon on the world map. Now, the region is fast developing a strong health and wellness reputation. As host to France’s first university for medicine, the area has a reputation for being the go-to place for pharmaceutical companies keen to set up high quality research and development sites for both the medical and beauty sectors. Bordered by the Côte d’Azur, the Alps, Auvergne and the Midi-Pyrénées on one side and Andorra, Spain and the Mediterranean Sea on the other, Languedoc-Roussillon has a unique, thriving terrain thanks to its diverse climate and wealth of natural resources including grapes, honey, olives and roses. The flood of business into this region is as much to do with the skilled labour force in the area as these natural resources and, today, there are 200 laboratories based here. With 15 million annual visitors, this is now the third largest visited area in France. Boasting 200km of coastline and many white sand beaches, it is proving to be a cost-effective alternative to the more traditionally expensive French luxury coastal hot spots of St Tropez and Cannes. In response to the growing tourism and export trade, many spas, hotel developments and leisure concepts have opened. In 2011, around 100 health and beauty businesses sprung to life, thanks to support from the Sud de France agency, a regional part-government trade organisation, and the enterprise association Ocwell, both of which support small and medium enterprises in the cosmetics industry. According to Ocwell, the region has shown an annual turnover of E200m (£157m) in the health and wellness industry and has seen a 15 per cent increase in the sales of beauty products and wellbeing treatments since 2009. “The core growth markets are in cosmetic, hydrotherapy, food supplements and beauty products,” explains Aurélie Guillen, from Sud de France. “Each of these markets is greatly aided by tourism.” One of the area’s biggest assets is the water in the Pyrénées, known locally as ‘La Source de Bien Etre’ (The source of wellbeing), and its traditional spa resorts attract 87,000 visitors every year. In 2012, a total of 11 unique spa locations will generate around 8,000 jobs thanks to visitors who come in search of recuperation from respiratory and rheumatic ailments. With such a dynamic wellness industry, rooted in spa tradition, the future looks bright for the Languedoc-Roussillon. We visit three of the region’s spas, established and new, to find out how it’s being done.
T european spa |
www.europeanspamagazine.com [Report by Siobhan McFayden]
The wellness industry in the Languedoc-Roussillon region of France is booming. We visited three spas in the area to find out why.
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