Pravassa Event Brings Wellness Travel Exposure to Agents

Wellness and medical travel is an emerging area of travel for agents to explore. Well-Being Travel, a marketing organization for travel agents focusing on medical and wellness travel, hosted an educational event in conjunction with preferred supplier Pravassa Wellness Travel.

Led by Pravassa founder and director Linden Schaffer, the full-day experimental wellness event for Well-Being Travel members gave agents more exposure to the growing niche of wellness travel. (Editor’s note: Well-Being Travel is a sister company to Travel Market Report.)

“Being healthy and being well means something different to everybody,” said Schaffer. “The role which you guys already do very well is listening to your clients; this is about combining that with wellness.”

Mini fam draws wellness experts
The mini wellness fam, held March 20 at Atmananda Yoga in New York City, featured several wellness experts showing off different types of experiences available on a wellness vacation.

Morning workshops included introductions to kettlebell training, yoga, meditation, life coaching and tango dancing.

“It was very informative and energizing,” said CJ Marino, owner of Monte Carlo Travel in Nesconset, N.Y.  “Wellness travel is something I’m trying to get into; I’m trying to push it with all my clients.”

The morning’s experiences were followed by a lunch celebration at Friend of a Farmer, a locally sourced restaurant close to New York’s Union Square. Lunch was followed by a guided tour of the Union Square farmer’s market.

Experience appreciated
While Marino has just started exploring wellness travel, he came to appreciate the experience despite his initial skepticism.

“The most important thing is facing the fear of the unknown,” said Marino. “You kind of totally get into it after a while; your mindset changes. It’s very enjoyable and a great way to spend time.”

He said the event was a chance to try something new and gain knowledge to help sell clients on wellness travel.

“My tip for agents is to really let go and embrace it,” said Marino. “I tried tango dancing for the first time!”