Raffaella Dallarda and Lucy Brialey embark on sustainable UK spa tour

Industry figures Raffaella Dallarda and Lucy Brialey have set out on a 12-day tour of UK spas to raise sustainability standards across the industry.

Dallarda is an industry blogger, wellness specialist and qualified practitioner who travels around the world to explore and showcase different spa and wellness cultures. To get a flavour of the UK sector, she’s teamed up with Brialey who is the co-founder of the Sustainable Spa Association (SSA).

Together they’ll visit a selection of destination spas between 5-15 June (see full list below) and condense their findings into a report to showcase sustainability best practices in the industry.

The duo will summarise highlights from the paper during a live presentation at industry event Spa Life UK on 19-21 June.

Named InSpaTour UK, the trip is the first UK installation of Dallarda’s global InSpaTour series. During each trip, she makes her way through a designated country or region’s spas to showcase its wellness culture’s unique qualities and highlights.

The destinations on the InSpaTour UK agenda are all either a member of the SSA or have been recognised for their high sustainability values. As part of their itinerary, Dallarda and Brialey will also head to popular historic UK healing and spa heritage sites, including Glastonbury, Epsom and Bath.

Dallarda commented: “The purpose of the tour is to discover the culture of ancient UK spa towns, to understand the role of modern-day spas and look into how spa culture can support human health and wellbeing.

“We also hope to highlight how spas can influence positive outcomes for the community, drive a valuable and healthy economy and help us reconnect to the natural world.”

In line with the tour’s green philosophy, the duo will travel around the UK in an electric car provided by Tesla.

After presenting at Spa Life, Dallarda will continue her exploration of the UK industry on her own and work her way through a list of London spa and wellness facilities.

“I’m so intrigued to explore legendary spas in iconic English destinations and experience a whole range of local cures or treatments,” she told Spa Business.

“I usually use my platform to champion the health benefits of spas and promote the industry through social media, but I’m excited to work with Lucy to publicise the importance of the relationship between spas and sustainability.

“She firmly believes that a successful spa and wellness business strategy is intrinsically linked to sustainability and that, only with this in place, will spa owners reach their business targets and the health goals they hope to offer spa guests.”

The InSpaTour UK itinerary

• Carden Park, Chester.• Buxton Crescent, Buxton.

• Ragdale Hall, Melton Mowbray.• Breedon Priory, Derby

• Eden Hall, Newark.• Hoarcross Hall, Burton-On-Trent.

• Raised Spirit, Oxfordshire• Whatley Manor, Malmesbury.

• Borringdon Hall, Plymouth.

More about the SSAThe SSA is a global network – based in London – of spa and wellness suppliers and resorts and European sustainability leaders, dedicated to bringing about positive change in the spa and wellness destination sector, through education, support and accreditation.