Yeoh Siew Hoon emerges from an anti-ageing conference, depressed but also enlightened on how this new science will affect us as individuals, and as tourism players.

I am having aging anxieties. I just attended the 3rd Asia Pacific Anti-Ageing Conference & Exhibition in Singapore (I edited the conference dailies, third year in a row), and I am thoroughly depressed.

The folks who attend this conference are all super fit. They look remarkable for their years. They talk more about biological age than chronological age. (If these folks have their way, we will all carry two ages in our IDs – bio-age vs chronological age.)

Their conference has no coffee breaks. Their lunches are all made of healthy fare – no deep fried stuff or sinful desserts like you see at hospitality and other travel gatherings.

According to the official body behind this conference, the American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine (A4M), "anti-aging medicine is a medical speciality founded on the application of advanced scientific and medical technologies for the early detection, prevention, treatment and reversal of age-related diseases."

The goal is not merely to prolong life but to ensure those years are enjoyed in a productive and vital fashion.
It is a big, big industry, and one set to grow bigger given the graying of Planet Earth. According to a US Census Bureau Report, Italy has the highest number of senior citizens with 18.1 percent of people aged 65 and over. Other countries are Sweden, Greece, Japan and Spain.

Asia is also facing an ageing population. Singapore now ranks third after Japan and Korea in terms of proportion of elderly to overall population. By 2020, it will rank second only to Japan, with a quarter of its population aged 60 and above.

The US report also said that by 2030, there will be 70 million people aged 65 and over in the US, double today's figures.

A recent report in the International Herald Tribune, headlined "The graying of China: old before it's rich" raises similar concerns about the world's biggest market.

The report said that "China is on course to age faster than any major country in history, as its median age soars from about 32 today to at least 44 in 2040". By 2040, it said, China could have an older population than the US.

All these figures obviously have implications for us in the travel business. A graying population affects the way we design, and offer our facilities and products.

And obviously if people are healthier and live longer (if anti-aging medicine really does work), then that means a different kind of elderly consumer to what we are used to, plus they have later expiry dates.

Having watched the event over three years, I have noticed a rise in interest from across the region. Anti-ageing medicine is gaining popularity in markets such as Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore – along with that, medical tourism is also on the rise.

Thailand's Bumrungrad Hospital set up an anti-ageing clinic in 2000, called "Vitallife" Wellness Centre. A third of its clients come from outside Thailand.

Singapore too is positioning itself as a regional medical hub. Hospitals in Singapore, and those like Bumrungrad, have undergone even more innovation and transformation than hotels.

Attached to the conference was an exhibition and that's where I got depressed. They have exhibitors there who measure your body fat, your bone density and anti-oxidants levels.

Okay, I am not a disaster case yet but I could be so much better, they told me, if I took better care of myself.

That means, eat more fruits and vegetables; exercise more; and take supplements. (To cheer myself up, I bought anti-ageing facial products. Easier to slap on than to take off, I reckon.)

Anyway, I think travel players should start taking an interest in this event. After all, if our clients are becoming more health-conscious, so should we – we need to know the latest trends and issues in diets and lifestyles, and we need to know how to moderate our own lifestyles.

Hospitality is possibly the most challenging industry in which to keep fit with all the wining and dining that goes on, and the everyday stresses of business life.

Meanwhile, hark these words from Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew, when asked on Chinese television recently about his secret to his health, "Eat less than you want to, work harder than you need to and sleep well."

The SHY Report
A regular column on news, trends and issues in the hospitality industry by one of Asia's most respected travel editors and commentators, Yeoh Siew Hoon.

Siew Hoon, who has covered the tourism industry in Asia/Pacific for the past 20 years, runs SHY Ventures Pte Ltd. Her company's mission is "Content, Communication, Connection". She is a writer, speaker, facilitator, trainer and events producer. She is also an author, having published "Around Asia In 1 Hr: Tales of Condoms, Chillies & Curries". Her motto is ‘free to do, and be'.

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