The days of spas being sold as quiet retreats are gone, says Nicola Field, spa and recreation manager at The Westin Abu Dhabi Golf Resort & Spa. In an exclusive Thought Leader column for Spa Opportunities, Field explores how spas can market themselves as active places by combining spa and fitness into one treatment package.

Spa and fitness: a perfect marriage, by Nicola Field

As we move forward in 2016, the biggest question is ‘what now?’ What will be the next trend within the wellness industry?

We know there has been a significant rise in openings of health clubs, gyms and other fitness centres and that that is projected to keep on rising, but where does spa stand in this lucrative period for fitness?

In this new era of technology, we find ourselves looking for ways of not feeling guilty for spending time in silence while we check our Facebook or Twitter, or the free hours we now use working, when we should be spending time socialising, maintaining our fitness and rebalancing our minds.

So yes – people are joining fitness groups and trying to detox on wheat grass because they heard this would remove hours of gazing at screens and eating junk food.

But how can we make the spa and fitness collaboration stronger than ever?

It starts with the marketing of your spa – don’t sell spa and fitness as separate identities, but as one treatment package.

How do we do this? Things like body composition analysis shows exactly what is going on inside the body and gives an overview of fat percentage, water retention, muscle mass, metabolism – the kinds of things that most people are interested in, which focus on longevity and a healthy standard of life.

This enables guests to understand how the body works and what they can do in their everyday lifestyle in order to maintain their body. If one guest a day goes away and changes their water intake or outlook on food, then that will have a rolling effect on many others, which could help the bigger picture of this generation’s anti-ageing and the main focus: health.

The days of spas being sold as quiet retreats is old school. People want to feel energised, revitalised and de-stressed; fitness is known to give people that positivity outlook and empowers people to know that all goals in life can be reached.