Lindsay Madden-Nadeau, senior director of wellness strategy at Red Sea Global (RSG), spoke at greenloop 2024, blooloop’s annual conference focused on sustainability in the visitor attractions industry, on trends in wellness and sustainability.
RSG is redefining project development with a focus on luxury, sustainability, and innovation. By 2030, it aims to build 50 resorts along the Saudi Arabian Red Sea coast, each committed to environmental protection.
Madden-Nadeau leads The Red Sea and Amaala wellness initiatives, pioneering sustainable tourism in Saudi Arabia. She has over 20 years of experience working globally for prestigious hospitality leaders. She has worked extensively with brands such as Accor, Raffles, Fairmont, and Orient Express, leading global wellbeing strategy, brand creation, programming, project management, design, and pre-opening.
Wellness at Red Sea Global
Madden-Nadeau joined Red Sea Global in 2023 to steer the organisation’s ambitions for wellness within the region and to create a roadmap for wellness within RSG.
“Our work here is underpinned by the deep belief in creating authentic wellness experiences and being anchored in sustainability.,” she explains. “Part of that is to create meaningful change. Being deeply rooted in people and planet means that wellness is already really embedded into what we do. That becomes a thread across all the different projects we lead through environmental, programming, construction methods, and talent within the organisation.”
Wellness has recently become a breakthrough trend in travel and leisure. Exploring this trend and some of the factors that are driving interest in it from consumers, Madden-Nadeau says:
“According to the Global Wellness Institute, the wellness economy is expected to generate almost 8.5 trillion by 2027. Wellness tourism is one of the top three wellness trends released from the Global Wellness Summit, and we’re seeing an almost 17% increase yearly in wellness tourism. So, what we know is that wellness is just going to continue to grow.”
Current trends – families, immersive and recovery
“We are seeing some interesting trends across the market, driven by very specific segments,’ she continues. “One of them that I think is worth mentioning is parents want more for their children out of vacations. A lot of that comes down to children’s enrichment through travel.
“This is gaining quite a bit of momentum with families. They recognise the value of these travel experiences, which contribute to children’s education and personal development, and seeing the world through a different lens. It goes beyond traditional family vacations, where they are simply going to relax. Instead, it focuses on more immersive experiences that offer fun and learning.”
An example would be families participating in local workshops to try traditional foods and learn about local biodiversity, marine life, and conservation.
“We’re also seeing the travel trend for recovery is evolving. People are so embedded in these busy lifestyles, and this trend reflects a broader positioning or prioritisation of self-care. And so, we’re seeing people going away not just for retreat but focusing on a wide range of practices, products, and philosophies that can help them recharge.”
Wellness and technology – longevity and men
Technology is playing a significant role in the longevity trend:
“We’re seeing things like Photobiomodulation, which is like red light therapy, where people use it to recharge their mitochondria. Hyperbaric chambers are another thing we’re seeing more and more. All of these contribute to recovery through increased circulation and enhanced performance.”
Madden-Nadeau also mentions the trend for looking after mental health, specifically in men.
“Within the wellness and retreat industries, there’s an increase in demand for wellness travel from men. I would say that that’s also probably very generationally led because you have different generations, starting from millennials and Gen Z, where wellness has been brought up as part of their DNA. It’s something that they’ve been exposed to.
“Gen Z places a strong emphasis on emotional health and the importance of community and social connections. We’re seeing men gravitate towards wellness travel, including adventure and fitness breaks. On average, we’re seeing about a 5% to 10% increase per year for wellness travel in men, which shows that different demographics embrace wellness around the world.”
Wellness innovation at Red Sea Global – AI and robot massage
Technology is continuing to drive the evolution of wellness trends:
“For instance, AI is going to continue to innovate. It’s going to drive hyper-personalised experiences. I spoke to someone a couple of weeks ago about the first prototypes for robotic massage, which was incredibly interesting.
“At the Global Wellness Summit in November, the Chopra Institute showcased Cyber Humans for us, which can take your information, calculate everything, and tell you precisely what you should be doing. These programs support this heightened intelligence and access to knowledge in a hyper-convenient way for day-to-day living.”
“I think that this is going to continue to evolve and grow. The way that we see it with Red Sea Global is that we always strive for innovation. So, we are engaged with various brands across health and wellness sectors, and we work closely with our partners to ensure that we’re bringing the latest technology and quality to the health and wellness programs with things that have credibility and scientific knowledge behind them.
“Together, we try to ensure the best experience for our visitors, residents, and guests.”
Art and immersive wellbeing
The wellness trend can be seen across the attractions industry, not just in leisure and tourism, with examples in museums, galleries, immersive experiences and more.
“Art and wellness, or art and wellbeing, is an emerging trend. We’re starting to see more art-centric activities and therapies. A good example is Refik Anadol, a digital artist who embeds media arts into architecture and data machine intelligence to create public art. He recently had a solo exhibition in London called The Echoes of Earth, a living archive.”
“On the opposite realm, we’re also seeing companies like Miraval, one of our partners at Shura. They host wellness retreats that blend yoga, meditative meditation, and artistic workshops.”
Madden-Nadeau also references research from the International Arts and Mind Experience, curated by Johns Hopkins University, showing that participating in social activities like museums and music can improve mental wellbeing, reduce anxiety and depression, strengthen social connections, and improve the quality of life.
Wellness in nature at Red Sea Global’s Amaare
These wellness trends are inspiring the Red Sea Global team to innovate:
“We apply a lot of market research and business intelligence to everything we do. We also have some incredible partners we’ve hired specifically for their expertise. But I think as a group, we understand that genuine innovation comes from pushing boundaries. And that’s what feels really great about all of our projects. This balance of scientific research and ancient wisdom philosophies really helps to ignite new interest.
One of Red Sea Global’s developments, Amaala, is rooted in wellness:
“We will be merging wellness and cultural offerings. There will be conservation walks, diving, treatments, sports and activities. This is our commitment to providing a visitor experience that’s life-enhancing and also is shaped by the destination. So, people come to the destination, and they’re immersed in nature. They’re surrounded by all these beautiful, inspiring brands and experiences. Not to mention that within that nature, we have this unique topography, these beautiful meditative waters, and these rolling mountains in the backdrop.”
“Amaala was reserved for creating a wellness destination because it has all of the touch points that guests would be looking for to decompress, recharge, and immerse themselves in nature.
“We see ourselves as reimagining health and wellness through the lens of that luxury, transformative travel. We’re going beyond conventional spa and retreat offerings and embedding that rich cultural heritage using our meditative, natural landscapes and some of the most progressive wellness technologies.”
Sustainability is key
Sustainability and regeneration are at the heart of the Red Sea Global development. Speaking about the relationship between wellness and environmental sustainability, Madden-Nadeau says:
“Being rooted in people and planet means that wellness is already embedded into the brand. It’s how we, as a company, choose to express that we are a developer of responsible tourism. We create these beautiful destinations, and we use sustainable construction methods to do that. As a developer, our foundation is sustainability. We build using LEED platinum standards, the highest construction standards, and we’ve built all our infrastructure to support this.”
Once the destination is open, RSG will deliver a net conservation benefit of almost 30% by 2040, she adds:
“We’re doing this by enhancing our habitats. We’re planting mangroves, seeding seagrass, working on coral regeneration projects, and improving the land vegetation. In addition, we have conservation projects that we’re embedding into the visitor experience. That includes projects like our Corallium. People can come to the destination and participate in this conservation project. They’re contributing to the destination as they come and explore it.”
A zero-carbon destination
The destination will also operate with a zero-carbon footprint and will be 100% powered by renewable energy:
“We have over 760,000 solar panels across five farms. Red Sea Global has also created operational guidelines to support our operators in working optimally within sustainability. We work closely with our suppliers, vendors and operators to supply more sustainable equipment and materials. We involve them in our vision and mission.”
“For example, we did a fantastic visit to the site in February with many of our vendors and suppliers. That allowed them to see what we are doing and understand the infrastructure and lengths that Red Sea Global has gone to to make these destinations sustainable. The feedback was fantastic, and now they’re super engaged and coming to us with solutions.”
See also: Red Sea Global: inspired by nature, led by science
Red Sea Global and Saudi hospitality
It is also essential for Red Sea Global to include social regeneration principles to truly be a responsible development, explains Madden-Nadeau:
“We have countless initiatives across the Red Sea Global portfolio that speak to our guiding principles on respect for local heritage, culture and community. Saudi has a strong vision for 2030, and part of that relates to social regeneration, incorporating programs built on education and entrepreneurship, including women’s entrepreneurship, which is fantastic to see. Last year, we saw 150,000 new women-operated businesses opening.
“All of this is to ensure that we diversify the nation’s economy. Part of that initiative is to prioritise Saudi nationals. Within our wellness strategy, we are working on upskilling, attracting, and retaining regional expertise and talent.”
One example is a collaboration with Batterjee Medical College in Jeddah:
“We’re shaping a two-year health and wellness tourism program that helps to support Saudi nationals and secure careers in the hospitality, health and wellness sectors. This is just one of the many initiatives we’re working on. We’re also doing this for multiple initiatives focusing on hospitality talent so we can Saudi nationals into our properties.”
RSG’s approach to travel is rooted in Saudi hospitality:
“All of our offerings, including health and wellness, arts, culture and sports, are designed to connect with the local culture. That local hospitality is a beautiful piece of the Saudi heritage that we’ll be able to bring to the guest experience.”
Striking a balance
In the world of leisure and tourism, there can sometimes be tension between making the right sustainable choices and delivering the luxury experiences that customers expect. Speaking to these challenges, Madden-Nadeau says:
“Tourism is one of the most significant contributors to climate change. As a company, we’re dedicated to creating a more environmentally friendly and luxurious travel experience. We think there doesn’t have to be a compromise in the middle. National Geographic found that 5% of all global carbon emissions come from the travel industry. So, we’re trying to offset that and make our destinations more responsible.”
“We’ve got a team of over 150 environmental and sustainability experts who guide our decisions. So, their expertise helps us find the best ways to operate within our limitations.
“We also see that education is key to people’s understanding of sustainable choices. And so, we want that to be part of the visitor experience. We have many different opportunities to contribute to the local environment. We have our mangrove planting and our Corallium Marine Life Institute, and it all becomes part of the visitor experience.
“It’s about us building a sustainable destination and doing what we can from an operational perspective. But it also is about educating people when they come and helping them to be part of that, inspiring them to make those changes back home. It’s not just about our destinations; it’s more of a broader strategy to inspire people.”
