In recent years, wellness travel has been growing, and it is likely to become one of the major trends next year. With the modern lifestyle and busy urban life, more and more tourists want to reduce stress and anxiety while they are traveling. This is the reason while more travelers seek meditation, mindfulness, and other spiritual activities.
What age group is the most interested in wellness journeys? It looks like a Generation-X woman who is traveling solo or together with a couple of friends is an ideal candidate for wellness traveling. With rising requirements and increased speed of life, many people feel exhausted and wishing to restore their balance and help both body and soul. Many of them want to learn new techniques that will help them to maintain spiritual stability when they return home.
When it comes to destinations, the U.S. remains the top wellness travel destination. The country is closely followed by two Asian destinations Bali and Thailand. Hotels in Bali, as well as Phuket hotels, attract many guests who seek stress and anxiety reduction, which is the biggest motivator for wellness travel. The list of top destinations also includes Vietnam, Bhutan, and some other Asian countries. As most travelers are seeking such activities, as yoga, meditation, spa treatments, and fresh cuisine, Asia is a primary choice as it can offer all of these practices.
Tour agencies are very positive about the future of wellness travel. More than half of respondents (53%) say that wellness travel bookings will be steady in 2019, and 45% say that the share of such tours will be growing. Moreover, almost everyone (98%) is sure that this trend will become even more important in the coming years.
Most travelers name such motivations as body and spirit transformation, renewal, relaxation, and an opportunity “to run away from everything” as their major motivators for wellness travel. They are mostly seeking such activities as yoga, meditation and mindfulness, spa treatments (relaxing massages, for instance), outdoor activities, and healthy eating. The top five popular wellness travel destinations are the following: the United States, Bali, Thailand, Costa Rica, and Italy. The list of emerging wellness travel destinations has Bhutan as the #1 choice. It is followed by Croatia, Vietnam, Portugal, and South Africa.