Tourism and wellness: a natural alliance in a natural state.

The state of Arkansas is renowned for its natural beauty and its national treasures. Yet Arkansas, like many states, is only doing a fraction of what it could to promote tourism opportunities there. In the United States, tourism is the nation's second largest employer behind the health care industry. It is a $417 billion dollar-a-year industry that provides $58 billion dollars in federal and state taxes. Arkansas' tourism industry yields $2.7 billion dollars annually and contributes $177 million dollars in state and local taxes while employing 45,000 people.

While these figures seem staggering, there are still many opportunities and avenues for growth in this industry in this state. One strategy would be to align tourism with the existing wellness movement, initiated in the 1950s and 60s by Public Health Service Physician Halbert Dunn. Dunn wrote about the relationship among body, mind and spirit and is credited with coining the term wellness.

The movement initiated by Dunn has provided national direction for the public regarding health-related issues and described the necessary steps to improve the health of individuals and the nation. Those of us who provide tourism opportunities for tourists or visitors have an opportunity to prosper from this wellness movement by promoting the multidimensional benefits associated with tourism that are similar to the multiple values affiliated with wellness.

To understand the natural alliance between tourism and wellness, it seems pertinent to provide a definition of the terms. Tourism can be described, in this instance, as activities undertaken by a tourist or visitor during their stay in a destination outside their normal places of work and residence. Wellness is a process in which an individual makes choices in a way that leads to health-promoting lifestyle behaviors, which positively impact the multiple dimensions of the individual's well-being. To further illustrate the natural alliance between tourism and wellness this article will describe the individual dimensions of wellness and how they coincide with the many educational, cultural and recreational opportunities available in the state of Arkansas.

Physical Dimension

The best known of the wellness components is the physical dimension. Historically, health has been viewed as an absence of disease; long equated with physical well being. This dimension involves making choices to create an energetic, strong body that is able to perform daily tasks without undue fatigue. It involves a number of health-related elements such as cardiovascular endurance, muscular strength and endurance and flexibility. The wellness movement emphasizes a proactive approach in which people improve and maintain physical well being through a variety of activities. Since people take part in recreational activities while on vacation, tourism is a perfect vehicle for promoting wellness. And by using Arkansas as a model, we can incorporate the wellness philosophy into typical tourism activities.

Water enthusiasts can travel to Southwest Arkansas to DeGray Lake Resort State Park in the Ouachita Mountains for a weekend of swimming and skiing in a 13,800 acre water playground. DeGray is one of 48 state parks located in Arkansas, many of which offer similar recreational opportunities.

The Ozark Highlands Trail affords hikers a spectacular 168-mile pathway that stretches from Northwest Arkansas through the Ozark Mountain region to its eastern end near the Buffalo National River. To provide the body with energy--in the spring season--visitors can bite into a ripe strawberry fresh from an Ozark patch--in the summer--a handful of blueberries--and in the fall--an Ozark apple. For those travelers in the Hot Springs area, there is nothing more relaxing and refreshing than cleaning up after a day of activity in the Buckstaff, a turn of the century bathhouse located on Bathhouse Row in downtown Hot Springs National Park.

Intellectual Dimension

The focus of the intellectual dimension is the process of using one's mind in the pursuit of lifelong learning. There are endless opportunities to accomplish this through tourism in Arkansas. For example, using native guides and master storytellers, visitors can take tours along the Buffalo River, America's first National River. The Buffalo River is just one of five National Park sites in Arkansas, each providing unique offerings to expand the mind.

For those interested in recent American history, there are four cities in Arkansas that contributed to the development of President Bill Clinton. Tourists can visit his birthplace in Hope or his boyhood home in Hot Springs. They can tour Old Main at Fayetteville where he taught constitutional law or see a replica of the Oval Of fice at the Old State House in Little Rock where he served as Attorney General and Governor.

For Civil War buffs the Pea Ridge National Military Park memorializes the largest Union-Confederate battle west of the Mississippi, and each year a colorful re-enactment is held, complete with the thunder of cannons and 20th century renditions of the "rebel yell."

The Ozark Folk Center in north central Arkansas enables people to learn about pioneer life in the mountains, outlaw gangs and forest ecology. Numerous programs are also offered through the Arkansas State Park's interpretive services. Visitors can learn about spring wildflowers, why leaves change color in the fall, or why eagles migrate in the winter. Old Washington Historic State Park houses the Southwest Arkansas Regional Archives, a resource center for historical and genealogical research.

Social Dimension

This dimension involves the process of creating and maintaining healthy relationships through positive interaction with others. There are numerous recreational opportunities in Arkansas that will enhance this dimension. One option is enjoying an afternoon with friends on one of the more than 150 golf courses in the state. Or relaxing on a float trip down one of the 17 float streams, ranging from gentle family waterways to Class V rapids. Or a trip to Helena to enjoy the King Biscuit Blues Festival or travel to Conway for Toad Suck Daze, two of the almost weekly celebrations occurring across the state.

And don't forget the opportunities for fishing and fish stories with friends. Visitors can fish clean, clear lakes like Bull Shoals Lake for bass, striped bass, spotted bass, white bass, walleye, trout, crappie, catfish, and panfish. Just below the dam, anglers can fish the swift, clear waters of the White River, one of the country's premier trout streams.

Spiritual Dimension

The spiritual aspect of wellness is characterized by the involvement of people in discovering the meaning and purpose of life. The well-known Passion Play in Eureka Springs, America's most-attended outdoor drama, recreates the last week of Jesus' life on Earth through his ascension. For others, there is nothing more spiritually uplifting than experiencing a magnificent sunrise or sunset over the Ouachita or Ozark Mountain ranges. Arkansas provides a panorama of scenic vistas from one corner of the state to another. Others still may choose to affirm or sustain their spiritual wellness by challenging themselves with a bike ride along the Buffalo National River on the Ozark Bike Trail.

Environmental Dimension

Ecotourism is defined as an authentic experience of the natural resources and cultural heritage of a place. Organized eagle watch activities take place in the Ozark Mountain region during the winter months. The Holla Bend Natural Wildlife Refuge in Pope County is one of the state's most outstanding areas for viewing and photographing eagles and waterfowl, and holds a significant winter population of Canadian geese. Birding for other species is a popular activity year round. White Oak Lake State Park has regular sightings of great blue heron, egret, osprey, and green heron.

Photographers will enjoy phenomenal wildlife shots of all kinds in the Ouachita National Forest. A network of Forest Service roads allows great sightseeing and plenty of chances to snap white-tailed deer and turkey. Mount Magazine, the highest peak in Arkansas, is home to a number of rare species of plants and animals, some of which are found nowhere else in the world. Other ecotours provide visits to Native American sites or an educational look at the wonders of the forest and river with a botanist guide.

Logoly State Park, Arkansas' first environmental education state park, provides workshops on a wide variety of ecological and environmental topics. These interpretive naturalist programs not only provide intellectual stimulation but also assist in the development of environmental philosophies.

Those who have already established an environmental philosophy, can help ensure that others will enjoy the many wonders of Arkansas by joining in the Greers Ferry Lake and Little Red River Cleanup. This cleanup, in its 27th year, and is a role model for comparable environmental action events across the nation. Other preservation practices on the Red River include a catch-and-release program during the spawning season for brown trout.

Conclusion

Tourism and wellness are not mutually exclusive. Even though each dimension of wellness can be singled out and connected to a specific recreational opportunity, it is important to understand that each recreational opportunity typically provides stimulation in more than one dimension. In Devil's Den State Park, interpreters provide hikes along the 14-mile Butterfield Hiking Trail. This combines the physical, social, intellectual, spiritual, and environmental dimensions. A family outing along the Ozark Mountain Bicycle Trail also accomplishes wellness goals in each dimension.

By promoting the natural alliance between tourism and wellness, those involved in tourism can ride the media drumbeat of the national wellness campaign. This will make more efficient use of money and efforts to publicize tourism by attaching tourism to the accomplishment of a variety of wellness goals.