NEW “WELLNESS” VACATION TREND

[Anchor Lead]

A new trend has risen in the recent days in the way people spend their vacations. Some people are now going for the so-called "wellness tourism", instead of visiting crowded destinations or famed restaurants. Let's find out what it's all about.

[Pkg]

[Soundbite] "Push your knees outwards for ten seconds."

Dressed in uniforms, people with different nationalities and ages gathered together. They burst into laughter while trying hard to perform unfamiliar moves. While doing the moves slowly they feel that strained muscles and minds have been relaxed. Park Sun-hee, an office worker in her 40s, is visiting the retreat with her family. She opted for a chance to relax and enhance her health and wellbeing, instead of touring around well-known tourist destinations.

[Soundbite] PARK SUN-HEE(VISITOR) : "I like that we can have time to talk about our personal lives and take care of our health in nature. It is good to have conversations about topics we rarely talk about with each other."

More and more people are becoming so-called wellness travelers, pursuing personal relaxation and wellbeing. Currently, wellness tours account for a small portion of the entire tourism industry as there are health-related expenses in addition to accommodation and meals. But, these programs are still being viewed as a good option as they provide greater value overall.

[Soundbite] KIM JEONG-AH(KOREA TOURISM ORGANIZATION) : "The global wellness market is estimated at five quadrillion won. In particular, the wellness tourism sector accounts for 750 trillion won or 15 percent of the total volume."

These wellness tours are expected to provide a boost to the sluggish domestic tourism industry.