Matt Sykes, former experience manager at Australia’s Peninsula Hot Springs, has proposed a blueprint for a hot springs bathing cycle around the emerging sector in the state of Victoria.
He recently presented the route to the spa industry for the first time at the Global Thermal Think Tank summit in China (see p62) and the California Hot Springs Convention in the USA.
The 900km Great Victorian Bathing Trail would run along Australia’s southern coast taking in a wide variety of bathing destinations such as hot springs and sea baths, river baths and beaches, mineral springs, forest baths and salt, ice and lake baths. In total, Sykes says it would connect around 50 locations, business and initiatives.
The proposed route will also link with Victoria’s Aboriginal Cultural Trail as well as hiking, rail and bike routes.
Sykes produced the blueprint after he won a 2018 fellowship at the Victoria Tourism Industry Council.
For research, he visited global thermal destinations, looking at industry benchmarks and experiencing a variety of international bathing methods. He started in southern and central Australia, he then travelled to Tasmania and then further afield to China and Japan. He also explored Europe, visiting Iceland, Finland and Norway, and then Denmark, Sweden and the UK.
The trail would begin at the Deep Blue Hotel and Hot Spring in Warrnambool and trace the coastline to the state’s eastern border Metung on the Gippsland Lakes in East Gippsland, where Peninsula Hot Springs is also developing a hot springs wellness hotel and bathing marina.
Along the way, people have the opportunity to experience the Twelve Apostles Hot Springs near Port Campbell, opening January 2022; Peninsula Hot Springs on the Mornington Peninsula; the Phillip Island Hot Springs and Saltwater Baths, which are under construction and the Nunduk Hot Springs Resort in Seacombe, East Gippsland which is scheduled to open in 2021.
Sykes argues the initiative will kickstart community and economic regeneration and is an opportunity to create a nature-based economy that is supportive of the local ecology.
“Victoria has a plethora of geothermal springs,” he says, “this creates a unique selling point globally for our state and positions Victoria prominently among destinations around the world that are focusing on this lucrative and growing sector.
“By 2030 we could create a signature wellness experience that’s nature-based, wellness-focused and defined by a common regenerative development philosophy.”
Sykes is now exploring the potential for other bathing trails in the Australian states of Queensland and New South Wales.
Read more from this issue of Spa Business magazine
View contents of Spa Business 2020 issue 1
Editor's letter: Time to shine
As spas reach peak revenues, now’s the time for our industry to act as a catalyst in working out how we measure the impact of an experience and the ‘return on wellness’ says Spa Business' editor Katie Barnes
Promotional feature: TechnoAlpin
If you want to deliver a hot and cold experience as part of your wellness programme, adding a snowroom will introduce a delightful and more gentle form of cold therapy, as Sara Brenninger explains
Trends: Spa Foresight™
Climate emergency, gen alpha and brain optimisation are among Spa Business’ latest trend predictions
Promotional feature: The Wellness
Investing in children’s facilities gives a spa and wellness offering a competitive edge, as well as helping the next generation achieve their potential, explains Mohammed Ibrahim, CEO of industry design and consultancy practice, The Wellness
Promotional feature: RKF Luxury Linen
As a symbol of luxury, innovation and quality in the world of spa and hospitality, much of RKF Luxury Linen’s success comes from its highly client-centric design process, says CEO Riadh Bouaziz
Design: Heat of the moment
From giant golden eggs and converted ski lifts to rustic, hand-crafted huts, we showcase the latest in heat experience design and innovations
In today’s premium spa environment, every detail shapes the guest experience – right down to
the softness of towels and the freshness of linens. [more...]
Matt Sykes, former experience manager at Australia’s Peninsula Hot Springs, has proposed a blueprint for a hot springs bathing cycle around the emerging sector in the state of Victoria.
He recently presented the route to the spa industry for the first time at the Global Thermal Think Tank summit in China (see p62) and the California Hot Springs Convention in the USA.
The 900km Great Victorian Bathing Trail would run along Australia’s southern coast taking in a wide variety of bathing destinations such as hot springs and sea baths, river baths and beaches, mineral springs, forest baths and salt, ice and lake baths. In total, Sykes says it would connect around 50 locations, business and initiatives.
The proposed route will also link with Victoria’s Aboriginal Cultural Trail as well as hiking, rail and bike routes.
Sykes produced the blueprint after he won a 2018 fellowship at the Victoria Tourism Industry Council.
For research, he visited global thermal destinations, looking at industry benchmarks and experiencing a variety of international bathing methods. He started in southern and central Australia, he then travelled to Tasmania and then further afield to China and Japan. He also explored Europe, visiting Iceland, Finland and Norway, and then Denmark, Sweden and the UK.
The trail would begin at the Deep Blue Hotel and Hot Spring in Warrnambool and trace the coastline to the state’s eastern border Metung on the Gippsland Lakes in East Gippsland, where Peninsula Hot Springs is also developing a hot springs wellness hotel and bathing marina.
Along the way, people have the opportunity to experience the Twelve Apostles Hot Springs near Port Campbell, opening January 2022; Peninsula Hot Springs on the Mornington Peninsula; the Phillip Island Hot Springs and Saltwater Baths, which are under construction and the Nunduk Hot Springs Resort in Seacombe, East Gippsland which is scheduled to open in 2021.
Sykes argues the initiative will kickstart community and economic regeneration and is an opportunity to create a nature-based economy that is supportive of the local ecology.
“Victoria has a plethora of geothermal springs,” he says, “this creates a unique selling point globally for our state and positions Victoria prominently among destinations around the world that are focusing on this lucrative and growing sector.
“By 2030 we could create a signature wellness experience that’s nature-based, wellness-focused and defined by a common regenerative development philosophy.”
Sykes is now exploring the potential for other bathing trails in the Australian states of Queensland and New South Wales.
Read more from this issue of Spa Business magazine
View contents of Spa Business 2020 issue 1
Editor's letter: Time to shine
As spas reach peak revenues, now’s the time for our industry to act as a catalyst in working out how we measure the impact of an experience and the ‘return on wellness’ says Spa Business' editor Katie Barnes
Promotional feature: TechnoAlpin
If you want to deliver a hot and cold experience as part of your wellness programme, adding a snowroom will introduce a delightful and more gentle form of cold therapy, as Sara Brenninger explains
Trends: Spa Foresight™
Climate emergency, gen alpha and brain optimisation are among Spa Business’ latest trend predictions
Promotional feature: The Wellness
Investing in children’s facilities gives a spa and wellness offering a competitive edge, as well as helping the next generation achieve their potential, explains Mohammed Ibrahim, CEO of industry design and consultancy practice, The Wellness
Promotional feature: RKF Luxury Linen
As a symbol of luxury, innovation and quality in the world of spa and hospitality, much of RKF Luxury Linen’s success comes from its highly client-centric design process, says CEO Riadh Bouaziz
Design: Heat of the moment
From giant golden eggs and converted ski lifts to rustic, hand-crafted huts, we showcase the latest in heat experience design and innovations
People taking GLP-1 weight loss medications such as Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro and Zepbound
may be losing weight, but they’re also becoming less physically active, according to new
research presented at the ENDO 2026 annual meeting of the Endocrine Society
Abu Dhabi-based investment firm Mubadala Capital has made a binding, fully financed
€1 billion
offer to acquire Pierre and Vacances SA, the European holiday resort operator behind the
continental European Center Parcs business.
Global retreat trade show, Synergy The Retreat Show, has launched a resource called The
Source, which hosts an open-access online Transformation Series programme.
The Standards Authority for Touch in Cancer Care (SATCC) charity has announced its first five-
day Living with Cancer and Beyond retreat, which will be held at Carden Park Hotel and Spa in
Cheshire, UK, between 1 and 5 September.
Patmos Aktis, a Luxury Collection Resort and Spa, has opened in Greece, with a renovated and
rebranded wellness offering called Ansana Wellness and Spa.
The Mauna Kea Beach Hotel, an Autograph Collection property in Hawaii, US, has opened its
22,000 sq ft indoor-outdoor Spa at Mauna Kea as the final step in the property’s overall
renovation, which has cost more than US$180 million (€166 million, £140 mill
The UK spa review and discovery platform for consumers, the Good Spa Guide, has announced
it will host the Good Spa Guide Awards 2026 during an event on 16 November at Sopwell House
Hotel in St Albans, UK.
Eighty-four per cent of consumers now say wellness is a top priority in their lives, with this
percentage increasing year on year, according to a preview presentation of McKinsey’s Future of
Wellness 2026 research report.
Mass protests have been taking place since Monday 1 June in Albania over the development of
a luxury resort by Donald Trump’s daughter Ivanka Trump and her husband Jared Kushner.
Global Wellness Day (GWD) marked its 15th anniversary on Saturday 13 June 2026, with the
theme: #JoyMagenta – a celebration of the healing qualities of simple gestures and activities
that spark joy.
In today’s premium spa environment, every detail shapes the guest experience – right down to
the softness of towels and the freshness of linens. [more...]
