Travel Agent as Therapist: The Rise of the Travel Shrink

It’s a label with which travel advisor Hope Yonge was christened a decade ago, and one she still wears proudly. She’s even incorporated it into her email address.

The luxury and adventure travel advisor affiliated with Post Haste Travel of Hollywood, Florida, has worked in the travel industry since 1972, as a flight attendant with Delta Airlines, then as a pioneer of Virtuoso’s Navigator program (now VAST, Virtuoso’s Active Specialty Travel team) under the direction of Helen Nodland. 

A seasoned traveler, long-time yoga and Pilates practitioner, and recently certified Mat Pilates instructor, Yonge got the name from a newly divorced and heartbroken client who needed to get away to find some solace. But when Yonge suggested heli-hiking with Canadian Mountain Holidays in BC, Canada, the client broke down in tears. “Oh no, I can’t go there,” the woman said. “My ex-husband and I were in BC together and I just couldn’t bear it.”

But Yonge insisted that the experience would help the woman heal—and finally, she took her advice. When she came home, feeling refreshed and empowered, “she looked at me with a big smile and said…Travel Shrink,” says Yonge. And the name stuck.

Renshaws to the Rescue
Also marketing themselves as “travel therapists” are Carly and Jessica Renshaw of Vancouver-based Renshaw Travel, a Virtuoso boutique travel agency founded in 1948 by their grandfather, Don Renshaw Sr.

Branding themselves as “wellness travel experts” for the past four years, the sisters have created The Renshaw Wellness Collection under the tag line “Prescribing Travel for Your WellBeing.”

They have the education to back up the branding, too—Carly has two degrees in nutrition, while Jessica has a degree in kinesiology, and is a certified personal trainer and raw-food chef.

“In order for us to plan the best trip possible for our clients we really need to know why they are travelling, what their intention is for the trip, and other personal information to curate a customized experience,” Jessica said. “We do act as ‘travel therapists.’”

She recalls the case of a female business owner who came to her on the brink of a breakdown, and inquired about combining a wellness retreat with a business trip to China. They ended up selecting a five-night Stress & Burnout Program at Kamalaya Wellness Sanctuary in Thailand.

“The spirituality and philosophy of the retreat, paired with the nourishing energy and the stress management program all made it a good fit for her needs, and also fit her budget,” Jessica said.

Since “digital detox” is highly encouraged at Kamalaya, the environment allowed the client the space and time to “forget her work duties and turn her focus inward, allowing her to return home to work with a renewed energy and motivation.”

As the concept of wellness travel continues to grow and expand over the various travel categories, it’s inevitable that we’ll see an increase in “travel therapists” who, like Yonge and the Renshaw sisters, fill a need with which OTAs cannot begin to compete.