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Hawaii wellness program may be model for others
Big Island business owners are cooperating in a new wellness travel campaign that might serve as a state and national model.
The 120 business owners and holistic professionals who make up the Hawaii Island Wellness Travel Association will meet with the Big Island Visitors Bureau and Hawaii County officials in November to further develop rules, packaging and marketing strategies for health and wellness travel to Hawaii.
“We’ve been trying for years to impress upon the [Hawaii Tourism Authority] that there is a really great opportunity, not just for the Big Island, but for the whole state,” said Lew Whitney, co-founder of Kokolulu Farm, which has offered cancer retreats and meditative healing programs for nine years.
HTA two years ago commissioned a $50,000 study of the health and wellness tourism market for Hawaii, according to the Pacific Business News.
That has led business owners, health practitioners, massage therapists, and operators of spas and retreats to join forces to market the Big Island’s tranquil atmosphere as a destination for holistic travel.
“We created our own association because we’ve all been aligned and a lot of this so far has been community-based, but in order for more economic development there have to be standards and guidelines,” said Susanne Sims, president of the Hawaii Island Wellness Travel Association.
“There has been a burst the last few years with people looking for alternative treatment and somehow [clients] have managed to find us,” she said. She added:
“My great grandmother always said people were going to come to this island for healing all ailments of body, mind and spirit. We have that package that people are looking for and that’s why we have the organization and the modalities to promote it.”
Report by David Wilkening
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