Sports and wellness events are making a post-lockdown comeback to Club Med resorts around the world, with some organised by a professional community or club and others led by friends sharing a wellness hobby.
Rachael Harding, chief executive officer of East, South Asia and Pacific, Club Med, said the group’s resorts have always benefitted from a “reputation for being all about sports and wellness”. Club Med resorts also typically boast vast spaces and a plethora of wellness facilities, which organisers of sporting events as well as guests seeking an active holiday appreciate.
In an interview with TTG Asia, Harding said her resorts in Asia have hosted various sports and wellness events throughout the years, such as golf and tennis tournaments.
“We had many of these sports and wellness groups and events before the pandemic, including frequent Body & Soul wellness festivals at various resorts throughout the year. Our Body & Soul wellness retreats are special in that nutritionists and wellness specialists are brought in to conduct guest programmes,” she said.
At Club Med Bintan’s Body & Soul wellness retreat in May 2023, for example, guests had access to three weeks of curated programmes that included fitness classes, wellness workshops, and mindful culinary indulgence.
“We also get private groups organised by yoga or Pilates teachers, designed for 10 or 20 people who would come for classes in the day and enjoy our facilities afterwards,” Harding added.
Soon to come in 2025, Club Med Kiroro Grand in Japan will kick off the popular Zico 10 Camp from July 17 to August 31. This is a collaboration with soccer icon, Arthur Antunes Coimbra, better known as Zico, and follows on from successful editions at Club Med Lake Paradise and Rio das Pedras in Brazil.
This summer soccer training programme will be offered as part of the all-inclusive Club Med experience, and is available to young football enthusiasts aged six to 17. The camp will run weekly from Thursday to Sunday, combining morning and afternoon sessions, and feature expert coaching and friendly matches. Coaches trained by Zico himself will lead the sessions.
Harding said the Zico 10 Camp was a “natural partnership addition to our existing sports activities and family-friendly offerings”.
