Spa Travel Bookings Through Agents on the Rise, Survey Says

More people are booking spa travel through travel agents, according to the annual SpaFinder Wellness survey of global travel agents on the health of bookings to hotel, resort and destination spas.

Among the study’s highlights:
•    Spa travel was significantly higher in 2012 than in 2011

•    The average spa vacation price per night rose significantly

•    Mexico/Caribbean overtook North America as the top spa travel destination

•    Agents are deeply divided on the impact of Groupon-type deals on their business.

Turned a corner
The sixth annual “State of Spa Travel” report showed that in 2012 bookings to hotel, resort and destination spas turned “a meaningful corner,” with more than two-thirds of travel agents seeing positive booking growth, and the average price-per-night booked rising significantly.

Findings are based on an in-depth survey of more than 160 travel agents around the world, completed in the fourth quarter of 2012.

“While the upswing in spa travel is being driven by the wider economic rebound, the survey clearly indicates that other factors are at play,” said Susie Ellis, president, SpaFinder Wellness, a marketing firm for the spa and wellness industry.

“With more than two-thirds of agents reporting that people are now more interested in traveling to spas specifically for programs like stress-reduction fitness and weight loss, the results are a clear indication that more travelers are deciding they simply can’t afford exhausting, unhealthy vacations.”

No longer an exotic concept
Ellis noted that “wellness tourism” is no longer an exotic concept but is becoming a powerful, mainstream trend that will continue to fuel the spa travel market – and influence where people go, and what they choose to do during their time off.

More spa bookings through agents
Sixty-five percent of agents reported that more people booked spa travel through agents in 2012, with 28% reporting that levels remained the same as 2011.  Only 6% reported a decline.

While 37% of travel agents reported that spa travel bookings increased in 2011 over 2010, that number roughly doubled for 2012. Sixty-eight percent reported growth in the number of clients choosing spa travel last year, with only 9% reporting declines.

Price-per-night on upswing
The survey also indicated that the high end of the market is clearly spurring spa travel growth, with the average price-per-night-booked in 2012 rising dramatically over recent years.

In 2010 only 10% of bookings topped $350 per night, but last year that jumped to 29%. And the majority of bookings now fall above $300 per night, up significantly from 2009-2011, when only 25% to 40% fell in that range.

Deals still abound
Despite the improving economy, agents reported that spa deals are not drying up. Thirty-five percent said that “stay spa” deals were actually more aggressive in 2012 than in 2011, with 55% reporting they held firm. (Only one in ten agents saw a decline in spa discounting.)

Agents divided on the Groupon impact
With the daily deal sites now a travel space fixture, the survey gauged how this new reality has impacted travel agents’ business.

A significant minority (44%) reported that the group-buying sites have had a direct, negative impact on their bookings. But 53% reported that the crowded daily deals space has had “little/no impact,” because the “deal” customer is typically not a travel agent customer. (Three percent reported their spa travel bookings have increased since the emergence of deal sites.)

Mexico/Caribbean surge ahead
The agents surveyed reported that the Mexico/Caribbean region was the number one global spa travel destination in 2012, leapfrogging the 2010 and 2011 leader, North America.

Agents also reported that Hawaii was the U.S. region attracting the most spa travelers in 2012.

Boomers driving spa trend
The health-obsessed baby boomer generation (people aged 48-67) remains the spa travel sector’s core demographic, with 67% of agents reporting that boomers were the demographic group most likely to book spa travel in 2012.

But a significant 31% of agents pegged the younger, 26-45 age group as now most likely to book spa vacations. (This age breakdown is essentially the same as reported for 2011.)