Travel

There is a resort in California that is gaining popularity as a romantic resort.

Travel & Leisure said that “Sycamore Mineral Spring Resort & Spa,” where you can enjoy whale appreciation as well as outdoor hot springs, is a hot topic. It is located in San Luis Obispo, California.

Sycamore Mineral Springs Resort & Spa has 24 outdoor open-air baths. Hot spring water is mineral water, which was discovered in 1886 by oil developers while searching for oil. The open-air bath is installed on the scenic hillside, and even those who do not stay at the resort can rent it on an hourly basis. The hot tub is surrounded by a wooden fence, which guarantees privacy and provides a magnificent view of the forest.

On the other hand, resort guests can enjoy a private bathtub in their rooms. Accommodations include single rooms, special suites, and guest houses. Convenience facilities include a yoga dome equipped with yoga, pilates, and tai chi classes.

Near the resort is Avila Beach, home to otters, sea lions and gray whales. There are many people who visit to see sea creatures with the resort. Whales can be seen directly from the Avila Beach Pier, but for a closer look, it is better to book an Avila Beach whale observation tour or rent a kayak.

Gonjiam Resort Hwadam Forest June Festival
About 70,000 hydrangeas of 100 species in a month
It’s a thrilling attraction and indoor swimming
Reservations for fireflies events from the 3rd

Gonjiam Resort and Hwadam Forest in Gwangju, Gyeonggi Province, will host the Summer Hydrangea Festival for about a month from the 1st to the beginning of next month. At the most beautiful summer hydrangea festival in early summer, you can enjoy a colorful and colorful hydrangea feast of more than 100 varieties and 70,000 copies.

In this festival, which represents the summer of Gonjiam Resort and Hwadam Forest, hydrangeas burst into bloom and show off their beautiful appearance around Hydrangea Garden and Gonjiam Resort Clock Tower Square, which are about 4,500㎡ (1,360 pyeong).

In particular, Hwadam Forest Hydrangea Garden is the most beautiful place in summer among a total of 17 theme gardens, and hydrangea colonies burst into bloom between cool falls and deep blue green, embroidering silk roads in the forest. Dense flowers gather to compete for beauty in various mysterious hydrangeas, such as large-leaf hydrangeas such as a bouquet, carpenters in full bloom with cone-shaped white flowers, American hydrangeas boasting richness with large bundles, and simple and pure blue hydrangeas.

There are various photo zones in Hwadam Forest Park, which is perfect for taking life pictures of summer trips. The Stamp Tour, which takes a walk in Hwadam Forest and finds and records stamps installed in major theme parks, welcomes travelers during the summer hydrangea festival. You can enjoy the fun of visiting the theme park representing the summer of Hwadam Forest with a guide map provided at the entrance of the ticket office at no additional cost.

Hwadam Forest is operated on the website of Hwadam Forest during the festival with a 100% pre-booking system. It is open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and the entrance deadline is 5 p.m. It is closed every Monday except for the 6th, Memorial Day for the month of June when the festival is held.

You can also enjoy various attractions. Gonjiam Rouge 360 degrees, which is 1.9km long and has a 360 degree rotation section, provides the thrill of speeding through the wind, and the indoor pool of “Sparaspa” is perfect for making memories of playing in the water with young children. The sunset car theater provides precious summer night memories of loving families and lovers watching movies together.

On weekends and holidays, you can use the Gondola Sky Park, which you can reach by boarding the gondola. You can make happy memories at small zoos such as lambs and rabbits, sand playgrounds, and kids’ playgrounds.

Gonjiam Resort and restaurants in Hwadam Forest will also launch a new summer season menu and invite them to go on a gourmet trip.

Hwadam Forest will hold the “2022 Hwadam Forest Firefly Event” from the 10th to the 19th. You can participate only through advance reservations, and reservations can be made on a first-come, first-served basis through the Hwadam Forest website from 1 p.m. on the 3rd.

It will be held 10 times a day at Hwadam Forest Park every 10 minutes from 9 p.m. to 11 p.m., and you can enjoy the feast of fireflies that mysteriously light up green in dark nature. During the event, the Hwadam Forest Firefly Package, which combines one night of rooms and tickets for the fireflies event, will also be released. You can enjoy fireflies with your children and share and keep special experiences comfortably in your room.

Seorak Waterpia, run by Hanwha Hotel & Resort (CEO Kim Hyung-jo), announced on the 24th that it has launched a new Night Spa where you can heal your body and mind in an exotic atmosphere.

Seorak Waterpia Spa Valley, which was damaged by forest fires on the east coast of Gangwon Province, was further upgraded after remodeling. Designed with the motif of eight famous hot spring tourist attractions in the world, the 18 baths provide a feeling of traveling to hot springs around the world. In particular, more than 100 Milky Way lights and moods were installed for the Night Spa, creating a differentiated feeling at night.

Blue Lagoon’ creates a dreamy atmosphere with a combination of blue paint and basalt. In the case of “Posovianco,” a bath agent was added to express the feeling that the rock turned white where the hot spring water passed. “Mornington” features a cozy and private atmosphere by collecting small-scale baths in the innermost part of Spa Valley.

Hanwha Resort Launches ‘Night Spa’ for Seorak Waterpia Night Opening
“Michukolts” boasts the largest scale in Spa Valley and places waterfalls and bedrock around it, giving it a feeling of being located in the middle of nature. After passing the “Mammoth” in the shape distributed along the river, “Hangsondeung,” which has an attractive mysterious and cozy atmosphere in the cave, awaits. “Tolang Tongo” and “Rotottoa” reproduce the hot spring waterfall falling from the mountain, giving off an exotic atmosphere.

Seorak Waterpia “Night Spa” is open from 19:00 to 22:00, and the price is 25,000 won for adults and 20,000 won for children during the week. Hanwha Resort Seorak Sorano sells a package that includes one night in a room and two tickets to Seorak Waterpia’s Night Spa. Reservations and details can be found on the Hanwha Resort website.

Hanwha Resort’s Seorak Sorano marketing official said, “As social distancing was lifted and demand for outdoor activities increased, the number of visitors to Seorak Waterpia nearly tripled as of May compared to the previous year.”

In addition to Hanwha Resort Seorak, “Oh!” which combines one night of rooms and two tickets for Sokcho child Ferris wheel in line with the increasing demand for outdoor activities Happy MAY! Happy May’ package will be introduced temporarily in May. Sokcho Ai Ferris wheel is a Ferris wheel located on the beach and is considered a representative tourist attraction in Sokcho as it offers a panoramic view of the blue sea.

Summer, the full-fledged holiday season, is approaching. Although it is a recurring summer every year, this summer is perfect for travelers and the travel industry. This is because the sky road, which has been blocked by the pandemic for two years, will be opened quite a lot from this summer. Those who have decided to travel freely at home and abroad are now excited to visit global online travel agency (OTA) sites such as Expedia, Hotels Dotcom, Orbitz, and Tribago. Travelers compare prices on sites and book the lowest-priced flights, hotels, and rental cars. It is now a rite of passage for free travel preparation that has become natural for us.

It was the first generation of OTA and Expedia Group listed on the NASDAQ market that settled this free travel preparation process for travelers. Expedia Group is the world’s largest OTA company with the previous sites and has entered more than 70 countries around the world. Expedia Group also has a platform to book more than 3 million hotels and 500 airlines around the world. It also entered South Korea in 2011 and led the domestic OTA market. “Economy Chosun” held a written interview on May 18 with Catherine So, executive director of the Asia-Pacific region of Expedia Group, which marks the 14th anniversary of its entry into Korea this year. The following is excerpts from the interview with Alperovitch.

The long pandemic is coming to an end. How did you overcome the pandemic?

The pandemic was an opportunity to practice the ever-changing emotions of travel. It quickly responded to the needs of travelers by adapting quickly. Overseas travel was greatly restricted during the pandemic, but instead we focused on domestic travel. As part of these activities, Hotel Dotcom launched a workation campaign in December last year that combines work and vacation. As such, we tried to make ‘travel’ a priority for consumers during the pandemic. This is also a factor that allowed the travel industry to win and win each other.”

Korea and other Asian countries are gradually easing quarantine. The opportunity is coming.

Confidence in travel demand is growing in the travel industry. We see the possibility that future travel demand can grow. According to a recent global travel trend survey conducted by Expedia Group, many travelers in the Asia-Pacific region are willing to go on a “big trip” on their next trip. Seventy-nine percent of South Korean travelers agreed. According to hotel dotcom data, overseas travel searches among Korean travelers in May this year increased by 455% compared to last year. The top five most searched travel destinations were the United States, France, Thailand, Guam, and Vietnam.

In addition, we paid attention to the phenomenon of ‘social exchange drought’. In a survey conducted in December last year, 71 percent of the respondents said that “social exchanges have decreased significantly compared to before the pandemic,” and 40 percent of the respondents said they were “willing to travel to make new friends.” In fact, hotels in the form of providing public spaces for social exchanges are gaining popularity. Among the various accommodations in Korea, the guest house seems to be a suitable place to make new friends.”

It has been 14 years since Expedia landed in Korea. What is the characteristic of the Korean market?

I am very happy that this year marks the 14th anniversary of Hotel Dotcom’s landing in Korea. Korea is a really unique market that has grown with us. Korean tourists are always looking for something fun, interesting, and different. According to a survey on Expedia’s global travel trends in September last year, Korean travelers cited “experience new things and places” as the top priority (42%) when asked about their most anticipated travel experiences. In the same question, only 34% of travelers from Japan, a neighboring country in the Asia-Pacific region, responded like this. It was also followed by “Trying new dishes or visiting restaurants (38% of Koreans, 29% of Japanese), “Trying things you never do (21% of Koreans, 19% of Japanese),” and “Exchanging with people with different cultures or backgrounds” (19% of Koreans and 12% of Japanese).

In addition, we found that Korean travelers have a sophisticated eye. Korean travelers prefer luxury and luxury hotels the most. According to an in-group survey, Korean travelers are lavish in spending at luxury accommodations such as hotels with spa or hot spring facilities or five-star hotels. This was also confirmed in the results of Hotel Dotcom’s search for “five-star hotels” filters in May this year, up 93% from the previous month.”

What is the possibility of Korean market growth after the pandemic?

Koreans are always passionate about traveling. We expect the Korean market to grow further after the pandemic. The demand for travel, especially overseas travel, will grow due to the pent-up travel desire. According to a recent global travel trend survey conducted by us, 61 percent of Korean respondents said they reduced the number of trips by at least 50 percent, and 27 percent said they had never traveled since the country since the pandemic. Seventy-nine percent of Korean respondents said their next trip will be “big,” predicting that the wave of retaliatory travel will fluctuate. On the other hand, about 59 percent of Japanese travelers answered the same question. In addition, 30% of Korean respondents said they wanted to go on a long-term trip to experience and enjoy the travel destination as much as possible. Only 21% of the respondents expressed similar intentions.”

What is the travel trend in the post-COVID-19 era?

First of all, as travel restrictions are gradually eased, we are looking at the overseas travel sector positively. However, as the data on post-COVID-19 overseas travel is not yet sufficient, four trends have been prominent from the perspective of domestic travel. It’s a wellness trip and a work trip. And luxury travel is also noteworthy. We believe that travelers’ pent-up desire to travel will be expressed as a phenomenon of willingness to pay more. According to the actual internal data, demand for 4-5 star hotels increased by 5% in the first quarter of this year compared to the first quarter of last year. Impromptu travel is also a major trend. It was found that consumers go on short-term and voluntary trips more often in the past year or two than before the pandemic. One of the most popular services the travel industry could offer at this time was ‘cancellation of free accommodation.'”

Recently, there have been many promising OTA’s in each country. Is there a strategy to survive the competition?

“Expedia Group has one of the world’s largest royalty platforms, which I think will be competitive. It will introduce a new integrated loyalty program called One Key, which combines four different loyalty programs under our company (Expedia Reward, Hotel’s Dotcom Reward, Orbitz Reward, and eBookers Bonus). In addition, we announced ‘Expedia Group ™ Open World’ in early May in time for the post-COVID-19 period. It is a new technology platform designed specifically to enable all partners to configure the products and services needed to succeed in the travel ecosystem. It provides an e-commerce suite that includes components such as payments, conversations, and services. This allows anyone to enter the travel business. For example, if an airline wants to implement a service that provides rental cars to travelers, it can implement related services through Expedia Group’s Open World platform.”

Global Spa Brand Opens in Bangkok

Clinique La Prairie Esthetic, which operates only in a few six-star hotels in Zurich, Switzerland, France, Germany, Monaco, Beverly Hills, USA, New York and Sydney, Australia, is making its debut in Bangkok with world-class medical services. The name is Clinique La Prairie Aesthetics & Medical Spa.

The Swiss La Prairie Institute, which originated in Switzerland’s world-renowned clinic La Prairie and has been studying anti-aging cell therapy and cells for more than half a century, has a global reputation as the home of skin-aging spa and cosmetics independent of the clinic La Prairie in 1982.

Attention seeking to lead Bangkok’s wellness sector, it offers state-of-the-art beauty and wellness solutions, including signature healing therapy and cellular high-tech face & body treatments, as well as physician-managed personal wellness and treatments.

Before visiting Bangkok, the experience of receiving a spa and simple medical service after hearing the news of the opening and making a difficult reservation feels like “two birds with one stone.”
First, apply oil to the back of the spa and massage it with warm stones for about 10 minutes. It’s the same way in La Prairie Spa around the world. Then, massage your face and body for 90 minutes with about 20 La Prairie products. Because customized treatment is carried out, the process of checking the physical condition before receiving the spa is meticulously carried out. The dressing room, decorated like a hotel lounge, has a wet space with a rain shower and facilities for receiving Thai herb steamers, Twilight Lasul, Vitality Pool and foot pressure.
Soon after the spa is over, you can get the medical services you want. There are various medical services for the skin, from vitamin injections to laser treatment for whitening, and treatment begins after careful consultation with a doctor.

A team of Swiss-trained nurses and therapists, led by Dr. Athip Nilkaeo from Bumrungrat International Hospital, provides careful and effective treatment with intravenous therapy, mesotherapy and non-invasive solutions and injections. The medical-grade therapy program consists of select treatments using scientific research and innovative technologies, including laser therapy for elastic skin or thermage using high-frequency energy, cryopolysis using cool technology to remove accumulated fat, and mesotherapy, an anti-cellulite solution for face and body contouring.

Clinique La Prairie Bangkok is located on the 15th floor of St Regis Bangkok and features 10 spa treatment rooms and 6 esthetic and medical suites. Although it has become an essential course for traveling to Thailand, Clinique La Prairie Esthetic offers a different spa experience. If you want to experience the world’s most luxurious spa experience, go to Bangkok.