Author: Dipankar Karmakar
DOI Link: https://doi.org/10.70798/Bijmrd/03110013
Abstract:
Wellness is an idea of life which is related to optimal health and well-being, involving body, mind, and spirit, with the natural and social environment. Among all the segments of global tourism which are growing the fastest, wellness tourism sits at the vanguard. The aim and object of this particular tourism is to improve upon the travellers’ all-round wellness, encompassing physical, mental, spiritual, and psychological wellbeing. Wellness tourism products are multi-faceted, i.e., a) Physical wellness (spa therapies, massage, hydrotherapy/ thermal baths, physiotherapy, fitness and yoga regimes, etc.), Mental wellness (meditation, mindfulness, stress relief, relaxation, mental cleansing, etc.), c) Spiritual wellness (spiritual retreats, yoga, traditional-medicine therapies, etc.). Sikkim, with its pristine Himalayan environment, organic farming, spiritual heritage, and community-based tourism model, provides a unique landscape for developing this niche sector. Sikkim has already been recognised as a green destination thanks to its success in organic farming.
Purely based on secondary data, the current study aims to grasp the concept of wellness tourism as a theory and also to analyse the pros and cons of developing a sustainable model for this segment of tourism in Sikkim. Finally, the study devises a roadmap for academicians, policymakers, stakeholders and practitioners alike with a view to creating an evidence-based wellness tourism in fragile Himalayan regions.
Keywords: Physical Wellness, Mental Wellness, Spiritual Wellness, Community-Based Tourism.
Page No: 128-134