Understanding Challenges and Opportunities Before Wellness Tourism in India Rawat Surya Rashmi Associate Professor, Symbiosis Law School, Pune, >Symbiosis International University, Pune, India Online published on 29 December, 2017. Abstract Introduction Make in India initiative of the present government has identified tourism & hospitality as one of the sectors for expediting the growth of Indian economy through generation of employment opportunities in the country. Adhering to the national call, author conducted a study on Health & Wellness Tourism (H& WT). H& WT is a travel associated with the quest for maintaining or enhancing one's personal wellbeing. In India this niche segment is still unexplored. Purpose The objective behind research in hand was to understand the challenges & opportunities before WT in India. It also studied the impact of changing family size, women's social roles and concern towards healthy lifestyles over H& WT. Research Methodology Research is based on both primary as well as secondary sources of information. The primary data was collected through a questionnaire survey of 300 people from Himachal Pradesh (Manali, Palampur & Dharamshala), India belonging to different income & age groups. In-depth interview of 6 hoteliers and tourist guides was also conducted. Analysis and interpretation of data was done through Graphs, ANOVA Test and Post Hoc Tests using SPSS. Results & discussion The changing demographic and economic environment has led to a significant change in the attitude of people towards tourism. People in the higher income group have started connecting tourism with wellness rather than the traditional cultural, sports or eco-tourism. Attributes such as availability of spa, gym and healthy food have started luring higher income groups. Top Keywords Changing Demography, Changing Economy, Employment Generation, Wellness Tourism, Yoga. Top |