Jean Guy de Gabriac - TipTouch International
Born in 2004 from the international experience of Jean Guy de Gabriac, it is a leading SPA consulting and training company in Europe.
It's been 6 months since the previous interview. How has the vision of the future of the sector changed since then?
Since March, the hospitality industry has been decimated, forcing the closure of booming spas and resorts. National tourism worked very well during the summer, but especially for 3-4 star hotels or campsites. 5-star hotels suffer from the absence of international, business and well-heeled guests. Day spas and beauty salons that already had hygiene standards quickly implemented specific Covid-19 standards, but governments classified them as NON-essential and forced them to close, while numerous studies show that massage and activity Physics help strengthen the immune system and manage anxiety.
Will this pandemic change the concept of well-being and the places dedicated to it in everyday life and on vacation?
2020 forces our industry to rethink. For example: intervene on the menus of services and treatments to make them ESSENTIAL. We must move from a culture of treatment or services to a treatment program strategy, 2 or 3 month packages. then we must continue to professionalize our teams with continuous training programs for a better understanding of anatomy, physiology, energy meridians and also incorporate techniques to channel stress and manage anxiety such as relaxation and Soft Wellness therapies . We have to position ourselves in evidence-based Wellness.
The Wellness & SPA "decision makers", like you, in what will they have to invest immediately to harness and manage the changes generated by COVID-19?
Since 2004, with my consulting firm TipTouch International, I have trained the SPA teams internationally during openings and during repositioning interventions. Now I have to put digital at the center of my remote training and coaching interventions. For the World Wellness Weekend, we are moving from hosting an event in 109 countries (543 cities) to a movement that will bring together millions of people to transform every weekend with more wellness into their lifestyle. In 2021 we will offer many new features: a calendar and a WellnessWebTV. The www.wellmap.org calendar will be launched at the end of January and will allow facilities to promote all their wellness activities throughout the year (not just the 3rd weekend of September, which remains the global W3 event). Every week the public will be able to discover proposals for staycations (a holiday spent in their country of origin instead of abroad, or one spent at home but which includes day trips to local attractions), getaways, full yoga sessions near home . People need regular meetings to practice diligently and with pleasure. They also need to be inspired, guided, supported to achieve their goals and stay motivated. For this reason we are launching the World Wellness WebTV (still WWW ;-) with short videos to watch on your smartphone at home, on the go or during a work break. Tutorials and wellness tips will be provided with enthusiasm and generosity by experts from all over the world in English, Spanish, Portuguese and hopefully, soon in Italian and French!
Finally, same question as 6 months ago: optimistic or pessimistic and why?
I am a realistic optimist. I am convinced that our salvation depends on our solidarity. Governments are imposing social distances and blocks. We must learn to live TOGETHER, not in isolation. Covid-19 should encourage us to better communicate and collaborate between professionals. We don't just have to wait for vaccines to fix the situation, we have to live CO-responsibly. Don't wait for the light at the end of the tunnel ... we can be bright where we are, to enlighten and inspire each other.
