Hotels

Vacation to Wellness

Travelers who believe in healthy lifestyles are looking to integrate their love of being active and eating right into their travel plans. River cruise lines, hotels, and even travel agent networks are taking steps to court these travelers, understanding that active/healthy alternatives are an integral part of selling travel.

Wellness tourism is big business, with revenues growing 14 percent between 2013 and 2015, according to the 2017 Global Wellness Economy Monitor from the Global Wellness Institute (GWI.) There were 691 million wellness trips made by world travelers in 2015, up 104.4 million in the two-year time period. Wellness travelers spend more per trip, with international wellness tourists spending 61 percent more ($1,613/trip) than the average international tourist, says the study.

Virtuoso Wellness

Research from Virtuoso, the international travel agency network specializing in luxury and experiential travel, shows that the “most sought-after wellness aspects” are massages and other treatments, healthy cuisine, fitness classes, environmental beauty, and sports activities, according to the 2016 Virtuoso Luxe Report. Virtuoso decided the wellness market was so important that last year it launched the “Virtuoso Wellness” Program & Expo uniting travel advisors who cater to health-conscious clients with “hand-picked partners” including hotels, cruise lines, tourism boards and tour operators for networking, education and marketing.

Among Virtuoso’s partners are many of the top destination spas, including Canyon Ranch and Golden Door, where guests can take a wide variety of classes and programs that enrich their mind and body, in addition to learning and participating in healthy eating.

Brand Hotel Fitness

Beyond the destination spas, a number of hotel brands are providing healthy lifestyle amenities. EVEN Hotels is actually a brand designed for “wellness-minded travelers,” featuring such amenities as athletic studios, in-room training zones and group classes, and healthier eating options. Westin Hotels & Resorts continues to add to its wellness offerings, including recently offering guests access to Peloton Commercial Bikes in select WestinWORKOUT guestrooms or in select WestinWORKOUT fitness studios. Other successful programs include its nutritious SuperFoodsRx menus, a Gear Lending program through a partnership with New Balance, and Run Concierges, which hosts group guest runs and supplies RunWESTIN maps of routes within their destinations.

Active Excursions

River cruise companies, such as Avalon Waterways, are also adding active lifestyle offerings. Avalon Waterways has new 2018 itineraries in which guests can find included active excursions to explore well-known and off-the-beaten-path destinations in virtually every port, as well as healthy cuisine options. “Active Discovery on the Rhine”, an eight-day river cruise from Frankfurt to Amsterdam or Amsterdam to Wiesbaden, features such choices as hiking near Eltville and around Duisburg, climbing up to Marksburg Castle for a guided visit, participating in a reenactment of Roman Games in Xanten and biking along the Rhine River while sailing through Germany; as well as a running tour as an option while in Amsterdam. The nine-day “Active Discovery on the Danube” from Linz to Budapest (or reverse) features active excursions in Germany that include a guided hike along a smuggler’s route from World War II while in Engelhartszell and a guided bike tour to an ancient border defense near Mauthausen, plus paddling a canoe in the Wachau Valley and taking a jogging tour around Vienna.

 

Related Links

http://www.travelagentcentral.com/cruises/avalon-waterways-adds-active-discovery-itineraries-to-rhine

http://www.travelagentcentral.com/avalon-waterways-waives-single-supplement-for-select-departures

http://www.travelagentcentral.com/running-your-business/stats-travel-tops-aspirational-activities-for-baby-boomers

The editorial staff had no role in this post's creation.