Health and Wellness Travel on Its Mark

It’s December, 2014. The place is Cannes, France. The event is The International Luxury Travel Market (ILTM) where a panel of experts predicted that by the year 2040, 90% of all luxury tourism will include an aspect of health and wellness.

It’s a forecast worth noting as more organization come to realize the tourism implications of “The Wellness Revolution,” a term possibly coined in the early 2000s by economist Paul Zane Pilzer, with his book of the same name.    

Case in point: for the first time in its 27-year history, Virtuoso Travel Week, held recently at the Bellagio Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, included educational sessions on Wellness Travel (hosted by this writer.)

“Without question there is growing interest from clients in health and wellness, and thus the focus on educating Virtuoso travel advisors to help their clients travel well. To help meet the demand from advisors for wellness travel information, we offered two well-attended professional development sessions,” said Jennifer Campbell, Virtuoso’s director of agency services and professional development.

Karen Goldberg, Virtuoso managing director of hotels and resorts, agreed that Virtuoso’s luxury hotels and resorts are “increasingly focused on elements of health and wellness.” In a recent survey to more than 1,000 Virtuoso properties, she said, wellness was most frequently selected as the reason future guests would choose to stay with them.

From the supplier perspective, Jennifer Fox, FRHI President International & President Fairmont Brand, says, “the interest in wellness travel continues to grow at an accelerated rate and, increasingly, our guests are telling us it’s a key motivator in their travel and purchasing decisions.  The focus on healthy living continues to permeate into new areas of the travel experience and in the future I’m confident that all aspects of travel will feature some element of wellness.”

Among the factors driving the growth are governments promoting healthy living to reduce medical expenses and health care costs, increased education, more astute consumers who wants to be both physically and mentally stimulated, and a media landscape that routinely promotes the benefits of looking good, feeling good, and acting good, she said.

JoAnn Kurtz-Ahlers of California-based Kurtz-Ahlers & Associates, representing more than a dozen wellness-focused properties in 25 countries around the world, says we need to remember that “wellness is about so much more than a spa treatment or a yoga class. Elements such as meditation programs and healthy dining choices are now also available at many luxury properties and even show up within mainstream brands.”

Fox concurs, pointing out that, “hotels, travel providers, and destinations are changing and adapting their offerings to reflect the benefits of health and wellness. And, there are many examples of this from the major hotel groups, tourism boards and other providers in the travel space.” 

For instance, says Kurtz-Ahlers, we have “wellness room designs found in unexpected places like the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, plus fitness as a fast-growing theme playing out through established hospitality brands such as Fairmont and Four Seasons.”

Agents agree interest is strong
John N. Upchurch, owner/advisor at Odyssey Travel in Ormond Beach, FL, agrees the prediction “is accurate.”

“The more travel I experience from suppliers such as Un-Cruise Adventures where one can hike, swim, snorkel or kayak, the more I see so many guests participating in physical activities,” he says. Odyssey Travel clients, including families looking for physical activities to enjoy with their children, “constantly ask about the biking and walking tours associated with the numerous river cruises we sell. “

Alexandra Pelts, president of Virtuoso-affiliate YYZ Travel Group in Toronto, agrees with the growth of wellness travel but feels the specific prediction may be a bit “inflated.” She says, “many luxury trips are based on different experiences and it very much depends on the age of the traveler and his or her lifestyle.”

She does, however, believe that “more than 50%” of luxury travel will include at least one element of wellness. She sees the younger generation—now between 20 and 30—“becoming very aware of healthy lifestyles, and they will be active luxury travelers by 2040.”  

Alison Barricklow, owner of Bedford, NH-based Savour the Journey and affiliate of Largay Travel, is another agent who agrees with the prediction.

“As a luxury travel advisor and meeting and incentive planner, I have seen a dramatic shift in my clients’ priorities during the past few years,” she says. Where until a few years ago “it seemed that the primary focus was on luxurious accommodations, lavish food and beverage experiences, and sedentary activities,” today, the majority of clients “want to design their travels so they return feeling better about themselves physically, mentally, and emotionally, and not feeling worse due to overconsumption and lack of exercise.” 

Some clients “have even started focusing on fitness and adventure as the main activity of their trip, which is where I think the biggest growth will occur—especially as more Millennials start to travel.”

Barricklow says she is also seeing a big trend in clients who want to use their vacation time as a way to jump-start a healthier lifestyle.

Across the industry the feeling is pretty much the same: Wellness travel is on a steady upswing.

“This is not simply a movement,” says Fox, “but a paradigm shift in direction that will remain in place for a long time.”