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Wellness Tourism Association at 44 Members Since January Launch

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It was in January of this year that the Wellness Tourism Assn. (WTA) was formed. Registered in the State of Colorado as a not-for-profit, privately-held organization, the WTA was established and designed to serve the booming wellness travel sector.

Wellness tourism certainly deserves its own association. According to the Global Wellness Institute’s 2017 Global Wellness Economy Monitor, the wellness tourism segment is a $563 billion industry — growing faster than the tourism industry itself.

In April this year, WTA defined wellness tourism and its associated terminology by issuing a glossary. According to WTA, wellness tourism can be defined as the following: “A specific division of the global tourism industry that is defined by the common goal of marketing natural assets and activities primarily focused on serving the wellness traveler and those who want to be.”

How is the association doing so far? According to the WTA website, the organization currently has 44 members. Some are individuals, and some are companies. Accor Hotels is the largest hotel company on board. The cost for hotels/resorts/retreats for membership is $2,000. According to WTA, membership benefits range from use of the WTA logo to a listing in the online Directory of Members to access to the database of members.

There are currently six on WTA’s Board of Directors. They include: Andrew Gibson, VP, Well-Being, Luxury Division, Accor Hotels; Thomas Klein, President and COO, Canyon Ranch; Anne Dimon, Founder & CEO, Travel to Wellness; Madeleine Marentette, Founder, Grail Springs Retreat Center for Wellbeing; Nilendu Srivastava, Managing Director, The Art of Living Retreat Center; and Cindy Hoddeson, Director, North America Monaco Tourist Office.

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