0 Spa industry asked to promote local products

The spa and wellness industry in Bali is being encouraged to promote Balinese traditions by using local ingredients and methods in the correct and responsible way. In a seminar entitled “The Secret of Balinese Wellness” on Monday, a number of spa operators, therapists, marketing and sales teams, as well as representatives from travel agents, learned about the basics of traditional Balinese healing (usada Bali). The seminar was organized by the Bali Tourism Board (BTB) and the Bali Spa and Wellness Association in an effort to inspire the industry to offer packages of Balinese traditional spa and wellness treatments to attract tourists.

As Bali has become a more unique destination, medical and spiritual tourism is developing. The island has been dubbed the best spa destination in the world by a number of international travel magazines. “There have been many spa operators and holistic healing centers emerge in Bali that offer healing sing traditional Balinese methods. However, it has been found that the quality of ‘exotic packages’ remains questionable,” head of the organizing committee, Ida Bagus Nirartha, said. “Bali’s achievement as the best spa destination in the world means tourism stakeholders have to guide the spa and wellness industry to ensure it is heading in the right direction and improves quality and added value,” he said. I Nyoman Prastika from the Ayurveda health faculty of the Hindu University of Indonesia, said that Bali still had a healing tradition that had great efficacy, and that many local people still chose this way of curing their illnesses.

“This cultural heritage should be preserved well,” he said, while regretting that there were not many Balinese people able to master the traditional healing methods transcribed in old manuscripts (lontar). Duraing the seminar, Prastika explained some basic information about Balinese holistic healing using natural spices, many of which are written in the Usada Taru Premana manuscripts, an “encyclopedia of Balinese traditional herbal medicines”. He explained that the usada that developed in Bali was basically Ayurveda, a Hindu medical science. “The Ayurveda teaches people not only to eat well, but also to behave well using the Tri Kaya Parisudha concept [clean mind, clean speech and clean actions]. It will not only make sick people healthy and live longer, but also make healthy people healthier and live longer.”

Soelyany Riwanto from the Bali Spa and Wellness Association, acknowledged that there was an ongoing trend in the spa and wellness industry in Bali to gradually shift to local and natural ingredients and methods. “The spa and wellness market has reached a level of saturation using chemical ingredients. To increase their competitiveness and promote uniqueness, many spa and wellness operators are turning to local and natural ingredients and methods,” she said on the sidelines of the seminar. The use of local and natural ingredients and methods waas necessary to prevent Bali’s spa and wellness industry from “being abused by imported products”, she said. 

“Bali can provide all the elements needed by the industry. We can find all the natural ingredients here, while supporting local suppliers. Besides, natural ingredients give a more instant effect.” “It is possible that, in the future, the spa and wellness industry could use 100 percent natural products, although it will be difficult and take time, and we continue to call on the association members to support local industries by using more local ingredients,” she added.

source : bali daily