With America’s never-ending quest
for increased energy levels and endurance, a recent study by Cornell
University’s School of Hospitality Administration has revealed that
visiting a destination spa may just do the trick. A visit to a destination spa—where the focus is healthy living—is a
travel option that actually leaves vacationers feeling rested, refreshed
and energized. According to more than 500 spa-goers, they felt more fit,
more energetic and experienced increased levels of endurance while
performing every day mental and physical activities after their
destination spa vacation. The study suggests that increased levels of
energy and stamina during the day may contribute to a greater sense of
self-confidence and body image which translates positively into many
aspects of life, such as increased job performance, feelings of
accomplishment, positive well-being and less fatigue. Once thought of as a
luxury, destination spa vacations are proving to be more of a necessity
for living a healthy, balanced life.

Professor Mary Tabacchi, from Cornell University’s School of Hotel
Administration and The Center for Survey Research conducted the study—
the first to quantitatively show the benefits of destination spa vacations.

  She noted key findings from people who visited a destination spa:

      - experienced greatly improved agility levels
      - felt they had an improved body image
      - exercised enthusiastically
      - routine physical work was much easier
      - fitness levels increased
      - had a better understanding of physical limitations

“The sole purpose and mission of a destination spa is to motivate and
enlighten guests about how to achieve healthier, more joyous living,” said
Michelle Kleist, Executive Director of Destination Spa Group (DSG), an
organization of destination spas that have joined together to educate
people about destination spas. “This study corroborates what we have said
for years about the lasting benefits of this type of experiential
vacation. Destination spas have become a viable category of vacation
alternatives.”

The study was conducted using randomly chosen guests from 25 destination
spas. Five hundred completed surveys were obtained from these guests.
Their responses were then compared to a list of 500 randomly selected
individuals who had not attended a destination spa, but who had taken at
least one vacation in the past 12 months.
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