Matt Sykes, former experience manager at Australia’s Peninsula Hot Springs, has proposed a blueprint for a hot springs bathing cycle around the emerging sector in the state of Victoria.
He recently presented the route to the spa industry for the first time at the Global Thermal Think Tank summit in China (see p62) and the California Hot Springs Convention in the USA.
The 900km Great Victorian Bathing Trail would run along Australia’s southern coast taking in a wide variety of bathing destinations such as hot springs and sea baths, river baths and beaches, mineral springs, forest baths and salt, ice and lake baths. In total, Sykes says it would connect around 50 locations, business and initiatives.
The proposed route will also link with Victoria’s Aboriginal Cultural Trail as well as hiking, rail and bike routes.
Sykes produced the blueprint after he won a 2018 fellowship at the Victoria Tourism Industry Council.
For research, he visited global thermal destinations, looking at industry benchmarks and experiencing a variety of international bathing methods. He started in southern and central Australia, he then travelled to Tasmania and then further afield to China and Japan. He also explored Europe, visiting Iceland, Finland and Norway, and then Denmark, Sweden and the UK.
The trail would begin at the Deep Blue Hotel and Hot Spring in Warrnambool and trace the coastline to the state’s eastern border Metung on the Gippsland Lakes in East Gippsland, where Peninsula Hot Springs is also developing a hot springs wellness hotel and bathing marina.
Along the way, people have the opportunity to experience the Twelve Apostles Hot Springs near Port Campbell, opening January 2022; Peninsula Hot Springs on the Mornington Peninsula; the Phillip Island Hot Springs and Saltwater Baths, which are under construction and the Nunduk Hot Springs Resort in Seacombe, East Gippsland which is scheduled to open in 2021.
Sykes argues the initiative will kickstart community and economic regeneration and is an opportunity to create a nature-based economy that is supportive of the local ecology.
“Victoria has a plethora of geothermal springs,” he says, “this creates a unique selling point globally for our state and positions Victoria prominently among destinations around the world that are focusing on this lucrative and growing sector.
“By 2030 we could create a signature wellness experience that’s nature-based, wellness-focused and defined by a common regenerative development philosophy.”
Sykes is now exploring the potential for other bathing trails in the Australian states of Queensland and New South Wales.
Read more from this issue of Attractions Management magazine
View contents of Attractions Management 2020 issue 1
Editor's letter: Time to shine
As spas reach peak revenues, now’s the time for our industry to act as a catalyst in working out how we measure the impact of an experience and the ‘return on wellness’ says Spa Business' editor Katie Barnes
Promotional feature: TechnoAlpin
If you want to deliver a hot and cold experience as part of your wellness programme, adding a snowroom will introduce a delightful and more gentle form of cold therapy, as Sara Brenninger explains
Trends: Spa Foresight™
Climate emergency, gen alpha and brain optimisation are among Spa Business’ latest trend predictions
Promotional feature: The Wellness
Investing in children’s facilities gives a spa and wellness offering a competitive edge, as well as helping the next generation achieve their potential, explains Mohammed Ibrahim, CEO of industry design and consultancy practice, The Wellness
Promotional feature: RKF Luxury Linen
As a symbol of luxury, innovation and quality in the world of spa and hospitality, much of RKF Luxury Linen’s success comes from its highly client-centric design process, says CEO Riadh Bouaziz
Design: Heat of the moment
From giant golden eggs and converted ski lifts to rustic, hand-crafted huts, we showcase the latest in heat experience design and innovations
An opportunity to reimagine one of the UK’s most recognisable towers has been formally
opened by Rivington Hark, as St Johns Beacon invites operators and partners to shape its
next phase. [more...]
Matt Sykes, former experience manager at Australia’s Peninsula Hot Springs, has proposed a blueprint for a hot springs bathing cycle around the emerging sector in the state of Victoria.
He recently presented the route to the spa industry for the first time at the Global Thermal Think Tank summit in China (see p62) and the California Hot Springs Convention in the USA.
The 900km Great Victorian Bathing Trail would run along Australia’s southern coast taking in a wide variety of bathing destinations such as hot springs and sea baths, river baths and beaches, mineral springs, forest baths and salt, ice and lake baths. In total, Sykes says it would connect around 50 locations, business and initiatives.
The proposed route will also link with Victoria’s Aboriginal Cultural Trail as well as hiking, rail and bike routes.
Sykes produced the blueprint after he won a 2018 fellowship at the Victoria Tourism Industry Council.
For research, he visited global thermal destinations, looking at industry benchmarks and experiencing a variety of international bathing methods. He started in southern and central Australia, he then travelled to Tasmania and then further afield to China and Japan. He also explored Europe, visiting Iceland, Finland and Norway, and then Denmark, Sweden and the UK.
The trail would begin at the Deep Blue Hotel and Hot Spring in Warrnambool and trace the coastline to the state’s eastern border Metung on the Gippsland Lakes in East Gippsland, where Peninsula Hot Springs is also developing a hot springs wellness hotel and bathing marina.
Along the way, people have the opportunity to experience the Twelve Apostles Hot Springs near Port Campbell, opening January 2022; Peninsula Hot Springs on the Mornington Peninsula; the Phillip Island Hot Springs and Saltwater Baths, which are under construction and the Nunduk Hot Springs Resort in Seacombe, East Gippsland which is scheduled to open in 2021.
Sykes argues the initiative will kickstart community and economic regeneration and is an opportunity to create a nature-based economy that is supportive of the local ecology.
“Victoria has a plethora of geothermal springs,” he says, “this creates a unique selling point globally for our state and positions Victoria prominently among destinations around the world that are focusing on this lucrative and growing sector.
“By 2030 we could create a signature wellness experience that’s nature-based, wellness-focused and defined by a common regenerative development philosophy.”
Sykes is now exploring the potential for other bathing trails in the Australian states of Queensland and New South Wales.
Read more from this issue of Attractions Management magazine
View contents of Attractions Management 2020 issue 1
Editor's letter: Time to shine
As spas reach peak revenues, now’s the time for our industry to act as a catalyst in working out how we measure the impact of an experience and the ‘return on wellness’ says Spa Business' editor Katie Barnes
Promotional feature: TechnoAlpin
If you want to deliver a hot and cold experience as part of your wellness programme, adding a snowroom will introduce a delightful and more gentle form of cold therapy, as Sara Brenninger explains
Trends: Spa Foresight™
Climate emergency, gen alpha and brain optimisation are among Spa Business’ latest trend predictions
Promotional feature: The Wellness
Investing in children’s facilities gives a spa and wellness offering a competitive edge, as well as helping the next generation achieve their potential, explains Mohammed Ibrahim, CEO of industry design and consultancy practice, The Wellness
Promotional feature: RKF Luxury Linen
As a symbol of luxury, innovation and quality in the world of spa and hospitality, much of RKF Luxury Linen’s success comes from its highly client-centric design process, says CEO Riadh Bouaziz
Design: Heat of the moment
From giant golden eggs and converted ski lifts to rustic, hand-crafted huts, we showcase the latest in heat experience design and innovations
A new immersive attraction designed to transport visitors into the final hours of ancient Pompeii
is preparing to open near the world-famous archaeological site in southern Italy.
Experience design company, BRC Imagination Arts, has completed a transition that sees founder
Bob Rogers pass ownership of the business to four long-serving senior executives, while
remaining actively involved with the company.
Movie Park Germany has opened a new Paramount Pictures-themed attraction as part of its 30th
anniversary celebrations, using immersive storytelling and adaptive reuse to reinforce the park’s
longstanding “Hollywood in Germany” positioning.
Therme Manchester’s 28-acre development, which will include interconnected glass pavilions
that measure 65,000sq m, will be the largest bathing and wellbeing attraction in the world once
complete, according to prof David Russell, CEO of Therme UK.
Efteling has opened Hooghmoed, a new family drop tower designed to broaden the appeal of its
recently launched Sirene Island themed area and introduce younger visitors to thrill attractions.
A proposed Puy du Fou development near Bicester and Universal Destinations and Experiences’
planned resort in Bedford are emerging as part of a wider transformation of the Oxford–
Cambridge Growth Corridor into a major centre for UK leisure and tourism inv
Shedd Aquarium has opened the Immersion Theater developed in partnership with SimEx-
Iwerks, as part of a wider strategy to enhance the guest experience and create additional
revenue opportunities.
The UK government has announced a temporary reduction in VAT on visitor attractions and
children’s meals as part of a summer cost-of-living support package designed to stimulate the
visitor economy and encourage family days out.
As designer Yinka Ilori prepares for his first solo gallery show in London, he speaks exclusively
to CLADmag about his mission to spread joy, the power of play, and his bold approach to using
colour (including the colours you won’t see in his work).
The government of Thailand is exploring plans for a THB300bn (£6.3bn, US$8.3bn)
entertainment complex in the country’s Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC), with officials
proposing a large-scale theme park and sports destination as part of a broader tourism and
economic development strategy.
An opportunity to reimagine one of the UK’s most recognisable towers has been formally
opened by Rivington Hark, as St Johns Beacon invites operators and partners to shape its
next phase. [more...]
