Before founding Destination Deluxe, Vivienne Tang spent many years in lifestyle publishing. She is a wellness and fitness enthusiast, encouraging and guiding people to become the best version of themselves.
What’s your story?
My wellness journey started a long time ago, but it wasn’t until I started to get bored of my career in fashion publishing (I was a fashion editor) that I started to fuse my interest in wellness with my passion for publishing, and launched one of the first wellness online magazines in Asia, The Source Asia. It was slightly ahead of its time, as we covered holistic practices, energy healers, eco-lifestyle and wellness tourism, which at the time only a small community was interested in. I eventually went on to found Destination Deluxe, which strongly focuses on wellness travel in addition to a spa, skincare, holistic therapies, and sustainable living. Today, Destination Deluxe is a leading wellness and luxury travel platform where you can also book wellness holidays.
What excites you most about your industry?
Wellness is booming! There are many opportunities at the moment, and everyone seems to be moving into this sector. Hotels and travel agents are all integrating wellness offerings now.
What’s your connection to Asia?
My father is Malaysian Chinese from Kuala Lumpur. I don’t have immediate family in Hong Kong, but I’ve been living in this city for quite some time now.
Favorite city in Asia for business and why?
Hong Kong. It’s so easy to start a company here, and because the city is so fast-paced it can really speed up the growth of your business too.
What’s the best piece of advice you ever received?
“Done is Better than Perfect.” I’m a perfectionist, so for me, my work is never perfect enough. There’s always something to add or to change. But running a business has taught me to move fast and deliver, even if that means a project isn’t 100% perfect in my eyes.
Who inspires you?
People who are driven to pursue their dreams and are able to create a successful business, yet humble enough to do this by respecting and uplifting others.
What have you just learned recently that blew you away?
I recently did an interview with Wim Hof aka The Iceman, and I learned that our vascular system is extremely long. If you would lay out all the capillaries etc, you would be able to wrap it around our planet approximately 2.5 times. Just the thought of it blows me away.
If you had your time again, what would you do differently?
I don’t have any regrets. Regret is just such a negative outlook. I try to stay positive and apply what I’ve learned along the way. What I would tell my younger self is to find people to complement my skills and to collaborate with them early on.
How do you unwind?
I do daily meditation and breathing exercises. They really help me to de-stress and re-center. It’s the only way to stay grounded in a hectic city. If I have extra time, I also do visualization techniques.
Favorite Asian destination for relaxation? Why?
I’m still madly in love with Raja Ampat in Indonesia. I love the underwater world, and Raja Ampat is a protected area. So there’s no fishing allowed there. As you can imagine, the marine world is thriving. It’s an underwater paradise!
Everyone in business should read this book:
Leaders Eat Last: Why Some Teams Pull Together and Others Don’t by Simon Sinek
Shameless plug for your business:
Destination Deluxe is a leading wellness and luxury travel platform for the global nomad. We hand-pick the finest luxury resorts and hotels, the most sought-after destinations, retreats and spas from around the world. We also feature a selection of beauty products, health and fitness tips, and a range of holistic practices, encouraging and guiding people to become the best version of themselves. With unrivaled experience in retreats and resorts across the globe, we review and propose places and practices based on the first-hand experience, consistently adding new gems to our vast collection of lifestyle recommendations. We seek out the smartest ways to help people rejuvenate, reconnect with themselves, and improve their wellbeing.
How can people connect with you?
Best to send me an email: [email protected]
You can check out the platform here: https://destinationdeluxe.com
You can also add me on https://www.linkedin.com/in/vivienne-tang-88265b13/
And follow me here: https://www.instagram.com/viviennetang/
Twitter handle?
https://twitter.com/VivienneTang
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This interview is part of the ‘Callum Connect’ series of more than 500 interviews
Callum Laing is an entrepreneur and investor based in Singapore. He has previously started, built and sold half a dozen businesses and is now a Partner at Unity-Group Private Equity and Co-Founder and CEO of MBH Corporation PLC. He is the author of two best-selling books ‘Progressive Partnerships’ and ‘Agglomerate’.
Connect with Callum here:
Download free copies of his books here: www.callumlaing.com
