TRAVEL AS HEALING.

As destinations and hoteliers invest in new wellness offerings, it’ll be ‘tryer’s market’ for travelers around the globe.

Weight of the world grinding you down? You should be traveling more. After declining along with the rest of the industry as the pandemic rejiggered life, wellness tourism – defined by the Global Wellness Institute as “travel associated with the pursuit of maintaining or enhancing one’s personal wellbeing” – is now going like gangbusters, with GWI forecasting an annual growth rate of 21% through 2025, and the spa and thermal/mineral springs markets poised for gains of 17% and 18%, respectively.

A recent headline from Travel Daily News said it all: “2022 Trend Forecasts Agree: Wellness is Officially Overtaking Travel”. Meanwhile, as luxury travel expert Tom Bartholomew of SmartFlyer noted to Barron’s just before Omicron put a damper on things, demand for wellness is so high, “securing spa and wellness treatments at hotels now can be as challenging as the exclusive dinner reservation.”

Wellness tourism has been around since Marcial Waters, the first resort spa in Russia, opened in Karelia by decree of Peter the Great in 1719. Major hotel groups have made dedicated moves into wellness of late. In 2017, for instance, Hyatt acquired global wellness leader Miraval, which last year introduced “Journeys With Intention” with customizable programming from basic spa, fitness, and adventure offerings to themes like self-connection and leadership fulfillment.

Carillon Miami Wellness Resort, which rode out the height of the pandemic by partnering with manufacturers of “touchless wellness technologies,” is now welcoming guests to the biostation, an elevated wellness destination launched in partnership with South Florida’s premier anti-aging and medical wellness center, with access to cutting-edge therapies to prevent and reverse the impacts of aging such as Nutrient Therapy, HCG Weight Loss, and HGH & Peptide Therapy. The program also offers dedicated health retreats spanning four nights, with customized programming tailored to individual wellness needs and goals.

And along the May River in Lowcountry South Carolina, Montage Palmetto Bluff is taking wellness outside to connect guests with nature, with programming from new Resident Naturalist Brian Byrne, who also works with the Palmetto Bluff Conservancy, to offer tours of the resort’s nature viewing areas such as Bird Island and the River Road Trail. Strap on your walking shoes and let natural beauty soothe you on “Spring Flora of the Bluff” and “Palmetto Bluff Nest Watch”.

Assuming reservations can be secured, it’ll be a ‘tryer’s market’ for wellness tourists, with destinations and hoteliers investing in new offerings in response to pandemic burnout. Among the dizzying array of trends we’ve seen forecast: sound healing, face yoga, seaweed bathing, anxiety resetting, immunity rebalancing, body intelligence, sleep hygiene, skinimalism, holotropic breathwork, mindful menstruation, plant-based eating, and digital fitness. (By the way, if you are feeling dizzy, suggested therapies include cranial sacral therapy, acupuncture, herbal medicine, and Tui Na.)