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Asia Minute: Sleep tourism is drawing increasing attention — and travelers

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When it comes to encouraging visitors, Hawaiʻi has emphasized themes from cultural tourism to adventure travel.

But there's a concept growing elsewhere in the Asia Pacific that might also work here in these islands.

The concept sounds simple enough: “Sleep Tourism.”

The idea that you might want to relax and slow down on vacation is hardly new, but sleep has blossomed as a marketing tool for a growing portion of the hospitality industry in the Asia Pacific.

Take Singapore — where you can choose the “Better Sleep Singapore” program at one luxury hotel or the “Sleep Well” program at another.

Thailand is another popular destination for what one hotel calls “sleep enhancement.”

Common components include teas, baths, aromatherapy, various massages and water therapies.

On the Indonesian island of Bali, restorative yoga is often added to the mix.

At one high-end Bali resort, you can also sign up and pay extra for a 60-minute sleep therapy session while suspended in a cocoon hammock with a padded facemask.

A study by HTF Market Intelligence found that expectations for this sort of vacation are growing.

It projects growth of nearly 10% between last year and 2028 when it comes to “travel focused on relaxation, sleep quality and stress reduction.”

Bill Dorman has been the news director at Hawaiʻi Public Radio since 2011.
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