Wellness Tourism: How the Hospitality Industry Is Catering to Health-Conscious Travellers

We’re living in a wellness-first era, where health-conscious travellers prioritise greater well-being and work-life balance. Indeed, the Global Wellness Institute valued ‘wellness tourism’ as a multi-billion-dollar industry in 2022. But, what defines this popular trend, and how is the hospitality industry catering to it? Let’s dive a bit deeper into wellness tourism.

What is wellness tourism?

A trend coming out of certain conditions caused by lockdown years, including intense travel restrictions, and heightened stress levels, wellness tourism is defined by people seeking travel experiences that enable them to continue their healthy lifestyles and routines away from home. According to a survey conducted by Hilton, as many as 50% of travellers wish to address their physical and mental health when they go away. This covers “sleep, recovery nutrition, and mindfulness.” The survey also found that brands catering to wellness tourism would receive greater loyalty and repeat customers.

Some travellers are motivated by wellness tourism but, it’s not just holidaymakers who’ll buy into it. In the US alone, 17 million people identified as digital nomads, rising by a staggering 131% since 2019. Nomads, along with more frequent short-stay travellers (it’s thought that 6 million Brits are utilising their company's ‘work from anywhere’ policy, taking more trips this year) have become big consumers of this trend. The question is – how are hospitality spaces attracting wellness tourists?

Wellness experiences beyond standard amenities

From hotels to coworking spaces, third places, and coliving spaces – fitness and wellness facilities (gyms, yoga studios, and spas) are standard amenities found in hospitality spaces of various forms, allowing travellers to continue their workout and meditation routines when they’re away from home. However, the advent of wellness tourism sees travellers seeking more than the average well-being amenity. Think yoga retreats combining exercise with nutritious food, relaxing massages, and hospitality experiences complete with meditation rooms and nap nooks – popular add-ons in today’s flexible workspaces.

The Global Wellness Institute also reckons travellers, particularly ‘discerning and sophisticated millennials,’ are motivated by unique cultural influences. For instance, the Nordics are popular travel destinations for their clean air and breathtaking landscapes. Travellers go there to pursue outdoor activities, from hiking, cycling, cold water swimming, sauna experiences in Finland, and hot springs in Iceland and Greenland. With wellness tourism in mind, hospitality spaces may align with their cultural roots to curate experiences beyond the standard Nordic holiday. For example, spa and wellness suites provide specific cultural offerings, and local-led tours complete with a dip in the hot springs and traditional cuisine for authentic Nordic experiences.

For instance, Casa Netural (a Nexudus customer) offers two unique local guided walking tours for its coliving and coworking community. The first explores the historic underground sassis (caves) in the UNESCO-protected city of Matera (in Italy, where the hub is located). The tour finishes with an aperitivo together to strengthen the group’s social connections. The second is their Netural Walks – an anthropological exploration along ancient mule tracks.

Tailoring wellness offerings for specific communities

In addition to providing cultural wellness experiences, hospitality spaces may tailor their well-being offerings for a particular community. For instance, eco-friendly brands leading with sustainable practices target environmentally-conscious travellers. Even further, hospitality is merging environment with wellness to curate new hospitality brands such as vegan hotels – that “go beyond meal times and provide rooms that are completely free of animal products.” Likewise, Huckletree coworking space (a Nexudus customer) has been a vegetarian office since 2018 and provides exclusively meat-free produce in its kitchen facilities across hubs.

Of course, vegan and vegetarian spaces entice a community whose values and lifestyles align. This is what encompasses a brand. A thought leader in this topic, Caleb Parker said on a recent episode of the Coworking Values podcast, that when brand and community come together, it ‘attracts people who align with that.’ He urges hospitality brands to champion their identified communities. 

Likewise, with 15% of the UK population being neurodiverse, the hospitality industry is rethinking the design of its space to reduce feelings of stress and overwhelm in its user experience. For instance, sensory design practice supports “everyone’s opportunity to receive information, explore the world, and experience joy, wonder, and social connections, regardless of sensory abilities.” For example, in a neurodivergent-friendly hotel lobby, the space will bring in natural lighting, soft furnishings to absorb sound, neutral colours to balance the senses, and living plants and walls to create a sense of calm. This evokes a relaxing place, boosting mental well-being.

Specifically designed for the needs of neurodiverse communities, Nook wellness pods can be found in flexible workspaces to overcome the nature of coworking – where the comings and goings, along with regular changes and events in space “can be challenging to a quiet mind,” expressed Nook founder, David O’Coimin.

Enhancing experience with wellness technology

In many hospitality spaces, technology threads everything together enabling operators to manage the business seamlessly while looking after customers. But even further, tech can be combined with wellness in hospitality spaces to enhance travellers’ well-being. 

With half of travellers seeking a good night’s sleep when they travel, ‘sleep tourism’ has been brought to light to ‘address sleep deprivation in our society.’ It’s yet another trend sweeping the travel sector this year. Luxury sleep retreats are available, with hotels setting up rooms with digital tools that facilitate relaxing nighttime experiences. 

For example, AI-powered beds are all the rage in high-end hotel chains. Designed for guests to “fall asleep faster, sleep longer, and more soundly, and wake naturally feeling refreshed and restored,” guests not only sleep in the bed but interact with its technology to create profiles and track their sleeping patterns, gathering a better understanding about their sleeping habits.

In some coliving and coworking spaces, giving residents and communities access to technology software increases awareness of available wellness offerings, where communities can book in to use them at the click of a button. For instance, the Ministry (a Nexudus customer) offers 150 weekly health classes in its space in London’s Borough neighbourhood. Integrating digital access management provides greater oversight of space usage, enabling people to plan their visits, and giving them peace of mind over their entire wellness and travel experience.

The future of wellness tourism

Wellness tourism isn’t just reshaping how people travel, it’s also boosting experiences and interactions within hospitality spaces. Continuing its upward trajectory and popularity, the wellness tourism trend promises a future where wellness is at the core of travel.