06 Mar 2014

Creating ‘wellness cities’

by Kate Cracknell

Recommendations made in January that two new garden cities be built in southern England to ease the UK’s housing shortage have prompted fierce political debate. [more...]

19 Feb 2014

It’s time to build wellness cities

by Liz Terry

Earlier this month, news broke that the UK government is planning to build two new Garden Cities in the south of England to ease a housing shortage. The original Garden Cities - conceived in 1898 by Sir Ebenezer Howard - were planned, self-contained communities surrounded by green space, containing homes, industry and agriculture. Plans for the new settlements seem likely to be guided by this philosophy. [more...]

18 Feb 2014

The floods – learning from Foot and Mouth disease

by Kurt Janson

The analysis from the Met Service and the Environment Agency is grim. They believe that flooding in the UK is going to get significantly worse before it gets any better and that, after the wettest January since 1766, the ground is now so saturated that even if the rain were to stop tomorrow, the flood waters will not fully recede for up to four months in some parts of the country. [more...]

18 Feb 2014

The post-recession return to growth

by Peter Ducker

Following one of the worst recessions in history, the UK is now passing from recovery to bona-fide growth. Instead of the 1.5 per cent it gave us a few months ago, the IMF now expects the UK to grow 2.4 per cent this year, higher than any other European country. [more...]

10 Feb 2014

Physical inactivity kills

by Kate Cracknell

The primary focus of the fitness industry must be addressing physical inactivity. That was the very clear message coming out of November’s ukactive Summit – the gathering place for UK policymakers to discuss sport and fitness. The event saw a well-orchestrated strategic shift away from a focus on combating obesity towards a new focus on inactivity as a standalone issue, with all the key speakers highlighting the challenges in this area. [more...]

20 Jan 2014

Publicity and rising to the challenge

by Eva McDiarmid

There were a couple of reports recently that featured in the national press concerning visitor attractions. Twenty years ago these stories would not have made any waves beyond the local area but such is the growing (very slowly) recognition of the importance of tourism to the economy that such stories are now headline news – especially if it's bad news. [more...]

08 Jan 2014

Industry verdict on Bannatyne’s discounting claim

by Jak Phillips

Bannatyne Group chair Duncan Bannatyne has sparked a lively debate among industry leaders over the issue of membership discounts. [more...]

06 Jan 2014

Time to fight for QOF inclusion

by Kate Cracknell

The campaign to present exercise as medicine has been delivered a blow with the removal of physical activity from the QOF (Quality and Outcomes Framework) – see Health Club Management 2014 issue 1 p10. [more...]

20 Dec 2013

After decades of lobbying, Europe's getting serious about the benefits of fitness and sport

by Liz Terry

When the EU published its European Union Work Plan for Sport 2011-2014, many thought it would gather dust on a shelf in Brussels. However, much work has been done since on policy in this area – including consulting with allied disciplines like health and transport – and Europe is shaping up to be a great champion for the sport, fitness and wellness industries. [more...]

10 Dec 2013

Balancing profit with reputation

by Liz Terry

This year's market research numbers have just been published for the US spa market, showing continuing signs of recovery. ISPA's 2013 US Spa Industry Study, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), found the five main measures of trading: visits to spas, spend per visit, total revenues, staff levels and total number of spas, have experienced growth (see our report in Spa Business 2013 issue 4 page 48). [more...]

12 Nov 2013

Scotland: the place to be?

by Eva McDiarmid

Travel Guide ‘Lonely Planet’ recently named Scotland as one of the top countries in the world to visit in 2014 in its annual ‘Best in Travel’ publication. Wow, for a wee country of just over 5 million souls that is some endorsement. Scotland was actually third after Brazil (World Cup – football!) and Antarctica (100th anniversary of the start of Ernest Shackleton’s infamous ‘Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition). Lonely Planet described Scotland as having a ”jam-packed schedule of world-class events” which make it “the place to be in 2014”. [more...]

07 Nov 2013

Tapping into wellness tourism

by Kate Cracknell

As health clubs align themselves more closely with wellness, exciting new opportunities are emerging. [more...]

05 Nov 2013

Advance ticketing

by Liz Terry

Pretty much every leisure time activity we undertake involves booking in advance – it’s a fundamental principle of the operation of restaurants and hotels, theatres, healthclubs and sports events. It enables yield optimisation, staff allocation, crowd control and budgeting and it limits fraud. [more...]

05 Nov 2013

Themes and trends at waterparks

by Aleatha Ezra

The World Waterpark Association receives calls on a weekly basis from media contacts, most of whom are looking for information on industry trends and what makes waterparks so appealing. The answer to the latter is: people visit waterparks because they’re fun. The rides are cool and people love the feeling of rushing down a slide or bobbing up and down on a wave. [more...]

05 Nov 2013

Digesting EU food issues in science centres?

by Maria Zolotonosa

Over the past decade, most EU member states have identified food and health as key priorities. This is because more people are becoming obese, and diet-related chronic illnesses, such as diabetes and cardiovascular diseases, are also growing. But, despite major public awareness efforts, citizens still aren’t making the right choices when it comes to food. [more...]

05 Nov 2013

AZA Support Conservation Mission

by Jennifer Fields

AZA-accredited zoos and aquariums, known for their role in animal conservation, also strive to conserve natural resources utilised in their business operations. [more...]