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Wellness Travel and the Slow Travel Movement
One consumer lifestyle trend that’s driving changes in the travel industry is an increasing emphasis on health and wellness. When taking a vacation to escape the hustle and bustle of everyday life—long commutes, looming deadlines, and the like—it doesn’t make sense to rush to the airport and cram into an airplane only to sit in traffic en route to a busy hotel you’ll use as your home base for carrying out a busy agenda. That’s really just a one-way ticket to tourist burnout.
Relaxation: A Growing Global Industry
In their Global Wellness Tourism Economy report, SRI International defines wellness travel as that which promotes healthy living, rejuvenation and relaxation, meaning and connection, authentic experiences, and disease prevention and management. Compared with unwell travel (characterized by overeating, stress, excessive drinking, poor sleeping, and disruption of fitness routine), it’s easy to see why it’s picking up momentum around the globe.
SRI International research reveals that wellness tourism is now a $439 billion market, representing 14% of world tourism expenditures. They expect its market share to grow 9% annually through 2017—50% faster than “regular” tourism. More people are using their vacation time to press the reset button, and whether that means catching up on sleep, immersing themselves in a new routine or adventure-hunting, they’re finding ways to accomplish it outside-of-the-box ways. This explains the synergies between wellness tourism and other niche travel market segments like cultural tourism, culinary tourism, agri-tourism, and sports tourism.
Taking it Easy
Consider the concept of slow travel, part of the “slow movement,” described by IndependentTraveler.com in The Art of Slow Travel as making a connection to food and families, and in the case of travel, a connection to local peoples and cultures. It’s about taking in one’s surroundings to come to know a destination more intimately—more thoughtfully and with all five senses. This might involve taking a leisurely walking tour through a city a bike ride across the countryside. It might mean traveling by train to enjoy the landscape. It could call for staying in a rental instead of a traditional hotel or spending time with locals to experience their unique lifestyles.
By appealing to peoples’ need for connection, slow travel provides an opportunity for travelers to get away from the mundane “life back home,” which can make an impact on their health and wellness. Their mind and bodies can take a break from all of the things that are usually fighting for their attention—technology, schedules, and to-do lists. Perhaps taking the time to stop and smell the roses is exactly what’s needed to face the fast-paced everyday world of today’s traveler.