Is the Future of Wellness Travel in Going Niche?

Yoga retreats and spa getaways used to be the definition of wellness travel. Guests would fill their days with beachside yoga classes or couples’ massages, dine on healthy fare, and lounge poolside. And yes, those types of trips still exist, but the days of one-size-fits-all wellness travel are long gone. Guests in 2020 want more than just a copy-paste wellness getaway — they have developed more nuanced and personal ideas of what wellness means to them. “People are expecting more personalized experiences all around, not just with travel — the more personalized an experience or product, the better,” said Alexander Timmons, owner of Mountain Trek, a luxury hiking and spa retreat company in British Columbia, Canada. And the wellness travel industry is growing fast to cater to this set. According to the Global Wellness Institute, the wellness travel market is now estimated at $639 billion, with a growth rate of 6.5 percent a year — which is more than twice the growth rate of tourism overall. To capitalize on this uptick and evolution of wellness travelers' wants, the hospitality industry is offering more bespoke getaways, whether that’s stays at a local farm or far-off monastery, treks to see the northern lights, or experiments with sound therapy. “Travelers looking to enhance or kick-start a healthy lifestyle will have a specific goal in mind, be it learning how to become more mindful or finding new ways to get a better night’s sleep, and the pursuit of that goal will all lead to a niche experience,” said Anne Dimon, president of the Wellness Tourism Association. Also, as "permanxie