Wellness travel is becoming increasingly popular as the practice of health and wellness has become key in our daily lives. Due to health and wellness becoming a priority to many, seeking wellness vacations has become essential as it can offer a new experience and teach unique techniques to look after mental well-being and health.
But what is wellness travel and what does it involve? Discover the meaning of wellness travel, activities to do when on a wellness vacation, and the best destinations you can visit for wellness in this ultimate guide to wellness travel.
What is wellness travel?
Wellness travel is focused on maintaining or improving your well-being. This could be in terms of mental or physical health. It promotes a healthy lifestyle, contentment, satisfaction, and positive emotions for all aspects of life, such as work, financial, or social.
Wellness travel comes in many forms and activities included in the vacation can focus on spirituality, physical health, or psychological health. Each activity you partake in during a wellness vacation boosts health in various ways.
Why is it important?
Wellness travel is important for a plethora of reasons, with the main one being that it improves well-being. Whether it’s a retreat to give you space to heal or a vacation that promotes fitness and healthy eating, a wellness vacation can offer self-improvement. This is vital to boost mental health and well-being and allows you to feel less stressed and become more knowledgeable about health and wellness.
Wellness travel can help to preserve cultural traditions in various countries. It gives opportunities for natives and other cultures to express their traditions and practices to others. This ensures that people are learning and taking an interest in cultures and traditions.
Amongst this, wellness travel produces a lot of money which means it can boost local economies. Areas that provide wellness vacations and retreats can benefit from a boost in their economy, positively affecting local businesses. From this, wellness travel can also generate lots of jobs for local people which improves the economy even more.
Types of wellness travel
There are two types of wellness travel that have different focuses and reasons for the trip. These are:
- Primary: This is when your trip is focused on wellness. It is the only reason for your travel and a huge part of your trip, so wellness is at the heart of your vacation.
- Secondary: This is when you go on a normal vacation but incorporate an aspect of wellness. It could be a massage, a spa day, or partaking in yoga. Wellness isn’t the focus, it’s just an activity for part of your vacation.
Within these types of wellness travel, there are a variety of niches. These include:
- Medical/cosmetic: This could be a hospital visit, clinic appointment, or surgery.
- Physical: This could be going on a spa trip, having a massage on the beach, or practicing yoga.
- Existential and psychological: These niches focus on holistic centers, self-development, mindfulness, and contemplation.
- Escapism and relaxation: This can be going on a beach vacation to unwind, visiting a spa, going to a remote place to focus on yourself, or staying in the mountains to connect to nature.
- Spiritual: This niche covers aspects such as yoga or mindfulness retreats, new age events, and pilgrimage tourism.
- Community-oriented: This includes vacations that focus on helping communities like voluntary tourism, charity ventures, and conservation holidays.
Wellness activities to try
There are many activities that make up wellness travel for you to turn your vacation into a wellness retreat. Whether you want to put wellness as the main focus of your vacation or you want to include aspects of wellness, these are some of the best wellness activities to try.
Yoga retreats
Yoga retreats provide you with multiple yoga classes for an extended period of time. They take place in remote and relaxing locations for you to relax the mind and focus on your well-being. Many are alcohol-free and vegan, so the food provided is healthy and detoxifies your body. They also typically don’t allow any form of technology, allowing you to escape and unwind from everyday life.
As well as yoga classes, you can enjoy various relaxing activities such as long walks, spa treatments, meditation, and plenty of free time for you to relax however you like.
Healthy eating
Taking a healthy eating break is ideal for weight loss or to understand more about the importance of a healthy diet. Everyone’s dietary needs are different as it’s based on your BMI, height, and deficiencies. Due to this, these breaks can be tailored to suit your requirements and body, and you can come away with the knowledge of what your body needs.
Meditation
This type of wellness activity is similar to a yoga retreat. Taking a vacation solely based on this teaches you the correct techniques for meditation while giving you space to practice. You can partake in guided meditation as well as other wellness activities such as detoxes, vocal workshops, peaceful walks, and foraging. This helps you to feel rested and rejuvenated while giving you vital knowledge on meditation so you can do this in your own time.
Meditation can also be incorporated into a secondary vacation as an activity to do in the morning or evening.
Spa breaks
Spa breaks are a popular wellness vacation and can be done for one night or a few days. Spas offer the perfect relaxation getaway to feel peaceful and rejuvenated. Spas have relaxing lighting and soft music to set the tone of your stay, allowing you to escape stress. They provide healthy snacks and the utmost comfort to indulge in peacefulness. From swimming pools and hot tubs to saunas and gyms, you can have multiple opportunities to improve your well-being.
Best wellness destinations to visit
There are many destinations that offer these wellness vacations and activities to immerse yourself in. However, there are a few destinations that are extremely popular and worth the visit. These are:
- Iceland
- India
- Hawaii
- Thailand
- Bali
- The Swiss mountains
- Arizona
Wellness travel allows you to escape daily life and stress while giving you time to focus on yourself and your needs. Many people are seeking this type of travel to enhance their well-being and learn new techniques that they can bring into their daily lives. Health and well-being are key to improving mood and introducing positivity. This is why so many people explore wellness travel to learn more, understand, and come back rejuvenated ready to take on the world and implement wellness daily.
