Bath’s hospitality and tourism venues are being urged to take part in the city’s first official wellbeing festival next February which will underpin its global reputation as a centre for wellness.
ReBalance Bath will take place in venues across the city for three weeks between 7and 23 February and will include a number of free events and taster sessions alongside luxury spa breaks and activities linked to wellbeing.
The aim is to bring new visitors to Bath at a normally quiet time and promote the city internationally as a spa destination as well as getting local people to feel good at what can be a gloomy time of year while trying out new activities in the city centre.
Wellbeing breaks have become a major part of the global tourism industry over recent years and Bath, built around the Roman Baths and with a number of spas as well as luxury hotels, is ideally placed to benefit from the trend.
The awarding of its second UNESCO World Heritage listing last year as one of 11 Great Spa Towns of Europe has also boosted its status as a wellness centre.
ReBalance Bath, which will bring together venues, hotels, spa therapists and restaurants, is being staged by Bath Business Improvement District (BID), the independent, not-for-profit and business-led initiative working to create the environment for businesses in the city to succeed.
BID chief executive Allison Herbert told the ReBalance Bath launch event in Bath Abbey: “A lot of cities say they are wellbeing destinations. But Bath is the number one wellbeing destination – we have been doing it for 2,000 years.
“Listening to our levy payers, we wanted to bring an event to the city in February when footfall needs boosting, and the time of year works well for wellbeing.
“We look forward to creating a festival with a dynamic and broad range of events and activities ton suit all ages, increase awareness for their business and further promote Bath as a key spa and wellness destination.”
ReBalance Bath is inspired by the seven pillars of wellbeing – mental, physical, social, financial/occupational, spiritual, vocational and environmental – and will feature themed days, including Motivational Mondays, Water Wednesdays, Food Fridays and Soulful Saturdays.
Events already arranged include motivational talks with Bath Rugby Foundation, cold water therapy at Cleveland Pools, teen yoga, Kintsugi workshop and Chado tea ceremony with Japanese restaurant Robun, and a talk by ReBalance Bath ambassador and Olympic gold medallist Amy Williams.
The ReBalance Bath launch in Bath Abbey included a laughter yoga circle, pictured above, staged by The Vitality studio, which will hold similar sessions during the festival.
For more information about the festival, contact events@bathbid.co.uk
