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OPINION: RUSSIA R


ussia has a steadfast philosophy that medicine and spa therapies are intrinsically linked and a lot of this can be traced back


to the late 1940s when the Soviet Union looked to kick-start technical innovation. They needed workers to be fi t and healthy so lots of government money went into wellness research and workers were sent to sanatoriums for a mix of relaxation and medical procedures to maintain their health and ensure they were fi t for purpose. This sowed the seed for what has now become the trend of medi-spas. Our hospital (in Moscow’s exclusive


Rublevka district) off ers treatment programmes to pregnant women and more recently the over 50s, combining spa and medical procedures. Pregnant women are by far our biggest customers because they want to stay fi t, beautiful and minimise the impact of pregnancy on their bodies,


Elena Silantyeva


Professor in rehab and obstetrics/paediatrics, Lapino Medispa


while ensuring a safe birth. We’ve started to attract a lot of clients from the UK, Germany and the US – particularly those with prior infertility problems – and this seems to be a growing market. On the medical side, we provide birth-


ing, cosmetic surgery, cardiac analysis and dietary programmes. In terms of wellness, spa therapies are used to supplement the benefi ts of medicine. For example, we’ve found that the ability of postnatal electro- therapy to relieve muscle and joint pain can be doubled by following the procedure with thalassotherapy. Many spa therapies have a medical benefi t and many medical


procedures are best performed in a natural spa setting, so it seems like an ideal fi t. One of the reasons we expanded to cater


for over 50s was because health levels in Russia are low. There’s little access to preventative medicine and many are not well enough to undergo conventional treatments, so there is a need to combine spa with medicine.


Silantyeva has carved a niche in the medi- spa sector by combining her medical background with spa therapies to specialise in wellness off erings around birthing and anti-ageing. Details: www.mcclinics.com


Alignment with social tourism, improvements in transport infrastructure and the preservation of natural resources all need consideration as the sector grows


I


n Russia, as in many other parts of the world, the interest in disease prevention is steadily growing and this presents one of the biggest opportunities in our sector. This July, I completed a report – Overview of Wellness Tourism in Russia – based on data from the Russian Union of Travel Industry to look at this part of the industry, its trends and measures for improvement. The term ‘curative & wellness tourism’


is the most appropriate in Russia due to its health resorts (historically called sanato- riums) based around natural, therapeutic resources such as mineral water and mud. Typically, such resort holidays off er an all-inclusive pre-paid treatment package consisting of a medical check-up and at least three to four daily treatments. There are around 2,000 traditional


health resorts in Russia. And fuelled by mostly Russian investment, there are a growing number of hotels – the total was over 9,000 last year. Many of the new high- end hotels are managed by international operators and off er modern spa facilities. Overall, wellness tourism is on an


upward trajectory. Tour operator ALEAN reports that wellness tours accounted for


72


Nina Tsymbal Spa consultant, Russia


30 per cent of business last year, compared to only 10 per cent in 2007. Inbound tour- ists play a minute part in this, with fi gures from the Moscow Medical and Health Tourism Congress showing that less than 1 per cent of foreign visitors stayed at sanatoriums in 2012. In comparison, in 2013, almost 33 million Russians travelled inside the country and 8 million (24 per cent) of them went to sanatoriums. One of the greatest trends is a shift in


the demographic of wellness tourists. In the past, the majority were aged 45-70, but today they’re mostly 30-50 – although more than 50 per cent of customers are still women over 45 years old. Older wellness tourists still prefer


traditional sanatoriums. They choose the destination according to the curative resources and therapeutic specialisations that match their own health concerns. In contrast, younger wellness tourists opt


for beach holidays and spa centres. Most aren’t familiar with traditional domestic sanatoriums, but they travel abroad and are accustomed to western service standards and look for these back home. In fact, there’s a growing preference for


fi ve-star facilities across the board as even those staying at sanatoriums now expect comfortable accommodation. Modernisation of resort infrastructure is


a key area to focus on when it comes to the future of wellness tourism in Russia. Other areas of consideration moving forward should include alignment with social tourism where funds are allocated for social needs; improvements in transport infrastructure; and legislation to preserve the natural resources as the sector grows.


Based in St Petersburg, Tsymbal has been a spa consultant in Russia for 14 years. Details: ntsymb@peterlink.ru


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