Spa Executive | Issue 13 | December 2019

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Andrew Gibson The Wellness Tourism Association and what it takes to become a world renowned wellness destination Andrew Gibson is one of the most respected and best known names in wellness, with more than 30 years of experience working in the sector. Mr. Gibson began his career in banking in London before shifting gears somewhat to study Recreational Management and Environmental Conservation at the University of Manchester after which he opened a luxury fitness facility in the UK, moved to Abu Dhabi and the Sultanate of Oman managed luxury leisure clubs, designed and built a ladies spa in Muscat and raised capital to design and build the award winning Retreat at Aphrodite Hill, Cyprus. He then went on to become the Managing Director that worked with the owners and created and managed Six Senses Hotels & Resorts. That was followed by stints as Group Director of Spa for Mandarin Oriental; Vice President Spa and Wellness for Fairmont Raffles Hotels and Resorts; and Vice President Wellbeing and Luxury Brands at Accor Hotels. He is now the Senior Vice President of Sensei, the new wellness brand created by Oracle founder, Larry Ellison and physician, David Agus. Created to increase global awareness of wellness, Sensei recently opened its first resort location, co–branded with Four Seasons Lanai at Koele, on the Hawaiian island of Lanai, which Ellison owns. The resort is an all-inclusive retreat that will focus exclusively on wellness retreats and offer a comprehensive and fully customizable program tailored to the needs of individual guests. Mr. Gibson is a founding member of the Global Wellness Institute and the Chairman of the Wellness Tourism Association (WTA). Established in 2018 to be the “voice of the wellness tourism industry,” the WTA’s goals are to create a common set of industry standards, to educate and increase awareness of Wellness Tourism, and to provide a networking platform for people in the industry. We spoke to Andrew Gibson about the WTA, the meaning of “wellness,” and what it takes to become a world renowned wellness destination. Please tell us about the goals of the WTA The primary goal of the WTA is to define “wellness tourism,” as opposed to “health tourism” or “medical tourism.” The WTA is working to help define our industry, and to educate the public so they can recognize legitimate and credible wellness suppliers and operators. The second goal is to help the industry sell wellness, because at the moment, if you look at hospitality and hotels in particular, it’s actually quite complicated to sell something to somebody looking for wellness. If someone wants to go on a “wellness holiday,” it takes quite a lot of investigation to, first, find out what exactly they’re seeking and, second, to then match that up with premises and locations that can 15 | Spa Executive
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Page 1 and 2: ISSUE #13 DECEMBER 2019 SPA EXECUTI
Page 3 and 4: Contents December 2019 Volume 13 3
Page 5 and 6: 4Not everyone celebrates, but the h
Page 7 and 8: 11 STRATEGIES FOR ATTRACTING TOP TA
Page 9 and 10: Six ways to delight your customers
Page 11 and 12: Chiva-Som reopens Thailand location
Page 13 and 14: The name “Zulal” refers to “p
Page 15: Coon and Miller found that the samp
Page 19 and 20: Spa Executive FOR LEADERS IN THE BU
Page 21: wrote, “These studies combined su

Spa Executive | Issue 13 | December 2019

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