Fare thee well

It's unsurprising that with the festive glow fading and winter far from over, this week is one of the most popular times for booking a holiday. The excesses of December also drive consumers to the gym in January, kickstarting their fitness regimes and supporting a global market for wellness worth $4.5 trillion in 2018.

And it's not just in the New Year that tourism and wellness are combining: the global market for wellness tourism grew more than twice as fast as tourism overall to reach $639 billion in 2018.

Wellness tourism is a broad term, generally referring to travel that allows the traveller to maintain, enhance or kick-start a healthy lifestyle, and support or increase their sense of wellbeing. Some consumers may seek out very specific wellness holidays at places like The Body Holiday in St. Lucia, or Grand Resort Bad Ragaz which focuses on sleep.

Going mainstream

The most interesting area of wellness tourism is its leap to the mainstream, with a focus on exercise, healthier eating and wellness across the consumer landscape.

Hotels and cruise line operators are identifying ways to take a wellness offering beyond the classic fitness centre and spa. Exercise brand Peloton has partnered with Westin to offer its bikes in hotel guest rooms and gyms, while cruise brand Star Clippers has focused on classes with a focus on yoga, meditation, and fitness classes during its cruises. In New York City's Hudson Yards development, luxury gym brand Equinox has created its first fitness-centric hotel showing the possibilities for truly mixed-use wellness development.

Airports embrace wellness

At airport terminals and airline lounges around the world, there is also a growing focus on wellness. Passengers can rent inline skates, bicycles, and Nordic walking poles at Zurich Airport to use in the conservation area outside the airport. Full-service vegetarian and vegan restaurants Floret at Sea-Tac International Airport in the USA and HealthyTOKYO at Haneda in Japan as well as Farmer’s Fridge, a healthy-food vending machine at Chicago O'Hare Airport, show the demand for wellness food options.

Lululemon and Free People, both athleisure retailers, have created wellness retreats for their customers, riding the wellness tourism wave to grow their brands and drive customer loyalty.

Wellness tourism is now a significant opportunity for hospitality and travel brands. Unsurprisingly, airports and hotel, leisure and travel operators can capitalise by focusing on improving customer journeys and standing out by incorporating wellness into their offer. We also see significant opportunity for UK retailers and landlords that recognise the buying habits, needs and wants of consumers wanting a healthy lifestyle.

Jessica Williams