What Is Driving the Symbiosis of Wellness and Travel?

Wellness trends and wellness travel trends are essentially one and the same. That’s because when something bubbles up as a trend in the wellness space, it’s almost immediately put into practice by the hospitality industry.

Once “forest bathing” became a wellness trend, you could bet the activity was added to every health lover’s itinerary who happened to be vacationing near trees.

In a way, resorts act as incubators for wellness trends — they’re a space to find out what things will stick, and what will just be a gimmick. As Skift contributor Laura Powell discusses in her story below, the travel industry also drives wellness trends. Out of the need to conquer jet lag came apps like Timeshifter. Meanwhile, Schloss Elmau has been offering concerts to its guests for over a century — and now healing music is one of the key wellness trends this year.

Luxury hospitality, too, plays a meaningful role in wellness trends. Often the luxury traveler wants unique wellness experiences — as in, the trends before they become trends. So luxury properties have to look for ways to stay two steps ahead — or at least on pace — with the wellness trends or get left behind.

We’ll see which properties put some of these movements from the Global Wellness Institute’s latest trend report into practice, and track which companies look like they’ll be setting the trends for next year. Stay tuned.

For feedback or news tips, reach out via email at [email protected] or tweet me @lesliebarrie.

— Leslie Barrie, Luxury & Wellness Editor

7 Looks at Luxury & Wellness

Where the Travel Industry Will Intersect With Wellness in 2020: Wellness trends come and go, but travel companies in 2020 are increasingly looking toward ancient traditions to find practices that are built to last.

Designing a Better Airline Lounge Experience: Despite the investment and focus on lounges to compete for and retain premium passengers, there’s a lot of thinking left on the table. Here are some simple fixes to design a better experience on the ground.

Hotels Are Confused by Rise of Legal Marijuana: Opportunity or Liability? The legalization of marijuana by states is getting murkier in the eyes of the federal government, which has still not legalized pot. Thirty-three states have, meaning that hotels have to deal with it whether they like it or not. Some hotels are embracing certain forms of cannabis. Others don’t want the potential liability. How do they figure out what to do?

Travel Advisors See Changing Cruiser Preferences for Peak Booking ‘Wave Season’: Travel advisors say this year’s “wave season” is showing strong preferences for less-visited ports and immersive land experiences. There are also indicators that passengers are more likely to hold the cruise industry accountable on sustainability.

5 Takeaways From the Year’s Largest Hotel Industry Conference: The hotel industry is expected to have a slowdown in profits this year, yet companies keep starting new brands and expanding existing ones. Where is this optimism coming from?

Opening Closed Doors: Can Hotels Do More to Fight Human Trafficking? Human trafficking touches every corner of the travel industry — especially hotels. And while the accommodations sector didn’t create the problem, it does have an elevated responsibility to put an end to it. The question is: How effective have the industry’s efforts been so far?

Most Big Hotel Chains Are Now Committed on Plastics: Here’s the Problem With Promises: We’re drowning in press releases about global hotel companies promising to reduce their reliance on single-use plastics. Most of these items require alternatives though, so what are they? 

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Leslie Barrie [[email protected]] curates the Skift Luxury & Wellness Travel Report. Skift emails the newsletter every Thursday.