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Travel MONITOR
IMTIAZ MUQBIL
You've heard of "medical tourism" and "health and wellness tourism". Now, get ready for a new one: "Mental Health Tourism".
A paper presented by Japanese researchers at the Asia Pacific Tourism Association annual conference in Bangkok last week says this form of tourism would be specifically targeted at urban dwellers suffering from depression and stress, largely as a result of sitting for too long in front of computer screens.
Said the paper, "Especially, in modern Japan, people tend to lose their mental health. [Government statistics] showed that the number of patients who suffer mental diseases in 2006 was two times higher than in 1996.
"The estimated number of patients suffering from mental disease was over three million, with one third of the patients being treated for depression. One person in every 40 in Japan has serious mental problems.
"Therefore, as a nation, Japan has to deal with this situation. Japanese companies, especially big companies, have found themselves paying more money on prevention, treatment, and leaves of absence due to mental diseases such as depression. Japanese schools also have introduced a school counsellor in every school to cope with this situation."
Researchers Takashi Ouchi and Aiko Matsuura of Chiba University and Shingo Shiota of Waseda University warned: "What has happened in Japan will happen in the near future in other Asian countries."
Their findings covered questionnaire-based replies and a study of stress levels among an unspecified number of Japanese males in their 30s employed by large companies.
The study was designed only to understand the background and concept of this potential new market in order to help planners, designers and marketers prepare the products, services and strategies to cater to it.
This new concept of "mental health tourism" can be characterised "as one type of special interest tourism and health tourism", the researchers said. While previous studies showed the beneficial effect of normal leisure activities or tourism on one's mental condition, they "have methodological problems in focusing [specifically] on mental health."
It added, "We can illustrate two kinds of mental health tourism. One is a type of tourism that is short term, and is suited to the general populace. This type consists of one- or two-day stays in rather large lodgings, such as huge hotels.
"The other form of tourism is long term, and is geared for recovery from depression. It has three purposes: 1) to recover from depression quickly; 2) to decrease the load on family members and on company expenses; 3) to establish life rhythm. This type of tourism requires small-size lodgings."
Entirely unsuitable for severe and acute depression, mental health tourism will involve features such as the "activation of five senses" to restore the balance of getting clients away from "spending hours behind a PC".
It will also require facilities for "psychological training to cope with daily stress, foster communication and other interpersonal skills" as well as support from local residents and an atmosphere of hospitality, and opportunities for mental health tourists to interact with local residents.
In terms of locations, "the best place to locate mental health tourism [facilities] is close to metropolises" especially as people in modern societies suffering from depression or lack of energy can't travel a long distance anyway.
"Above all, [mental health] tourism offers the chance to [see] one's own ordinary life from a different point of view. This feature is a fundamental element of mental health tourism."
Is there money in it? Most certainly.
According to the study, normal domestic tourism in Japan is worth 19.2 trillion yen (US$192 billion). So, if mental health tourism represented just 10% of that, it would be worth $19.2 billion.
The researchers noted that Japanese corporations spent about $6 billion a year on training. If just 10% of that, or $600 million, went to mental health tourism, the market was potentially huge.
Further studies will be required to establish what kind of activities and facilities are required to make mental health tourism effective, which target markets are likely to benefit most, the cost performance of this new segment and how best to make it appeal as "a marketable commodity".
It said that such studies are being done in Chiba prefecture near Tokyo, which is funding the studies as a means of attracting people and investment into the region which is experiencing a declining population.
Imtiaz Muqbil is executive editor of Travel Impact Newswire, an e-mailed feature and analysis service focusing on the Asia-Pacific travel industry.
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