WELL, WELL, WELL
REACHING OUT TO THE HEALTHCARE SECTOR
T
he health and fi tness industry will continue to strive towards partnership with the medical
wellness sector, highlighting the role it can play in the preventative healthcare agenda – but will there be a realisation that one size does not fi t all. Not all facilities can deliver this type of
off ering, and those who do wish to enter the medical arena will need to make a strong commitment to it. Health club owners will need to make a decision: are you a fi tness facility or a wellness centre? If the latter, the necessary investment will come not only in the shape of time and money, but also in terms of opera- tional priorities: staff qualifi cations and skillsets, as well as measurable outcomes, will be key. T ose able to deliver all this may turn out to be few and far between – most probably the higher-end facili- ties with in-house expertise and holistic wellness facilities, plus credible channels of referral already in place. Nuffi eld Health in the UK, with its
strong medical heritage, is beginning to replicate its ‘one stop shop’ model – proven in its corporate sites – in its consumer clubs, with onsite GPs and therapists working with the fitness staff . And at London’s T e T ird Space, all gym instructors have sports science degrees, providing a credible channel for exercise referral. T is is a potential growth area for spas, given the breadth of their wellbeing off ering, provided the sector can train its fi tness staff in wider health and fi tness qualifi cations.
www.spahandbook.com Older people are more broad-minded about the benefi ts of wellbeing and their quality of life GOLDEN OLDIES
REALISING THE POTENTIAL OF AN AGEING SOCIETY
O
lder people will be a key future focus of the fi tness industry as the popu- lation of many countries continues
to age, but with expectations of ageing well. Open to guidance, oſt en due to a lack of
confi dence, this is a population group with a real need for fi tness expertise. It may be true that, as with kids’ fi tness, it requires a little more imagination than catering for the 20- and 30-somethings, but the rewards are certainly there, both fi nancial – this is a less transient market with disposable income – and in terms of emotional reward for your gym staff , as the impact of their eff orts can be truly life-changing. Older people are also more broad-minded
about the benefi ts of exercise and wellbeing: they care less about looking good and put more value on feeling good and maintaining quality of life. As fi tness and spa get closer to healthcare, it’s a perspective that fi ts perfectly with the way the sectors could position them- selves going forward.
According to the World Health Organi-
zation, in almost every country worldwide, the proportion of people over the age of 60 is growing faster than any other age group, as a result of both longer life expectancy and declining fertility rates. So, perhaps it’s time the fi tness industry
went one step further into specialist facili- ties, not waiting until people are in care and retirement homes to do so, but creating high street off erings for those aged 50 years and over who’d rather enhance their fi tness and wellbeing levels in their own space. Such sites are already a huge success story
in countries such as Australia, the US and the Netherlands – the Niſt y Aſt er Fiſt y chain in the US, for example, as well as T e Sum- mit, a us$23m (€16.9m, £14.2m), 5,574sq m (60,000sq ſt ) facility in Grand Prairie’s Cen- tral Park that opened last year. Catering exclusively for those aged 50 and over, T e Summit sold more than 5,000 memberships in its fi rst four months. Could – indeed, should – spas also con-
centrate on off ering more specialist fi tness sessions specifi cally aimed at this huge and as yet untapped worldwide market sector?
spa business handbook 2011 101
PHOTO:
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