Travel Trends to Try - Getting Well and Giving Back on Vacation
If you’re planning an end-of-summer vacation or starting to arrange a fall or winter getaway, you may have noticed a growing number of wellness-related opportunities. Wellness tourism, defined as travel associated with enhancing one’s well-being, is booming. The trend that started with simple spa services and morning yoga classes has blossomed into a $450+ billion-a-year global industry, with fitness activities that move well beyond the gym and spa treatments in natural settings — a moon-bath massage under the stars sounds nice, doesn’t it? The wellness tourism landscape is expected to shift yet again in the coming year, with more focus on transformative experiences that lead to personal growth. Travel options will involve a greater connection to nature, cultural immersion, and more unexpected experiences. You might practice the traditional art of calligraphy in Shanghai or buy groceries at a local market and then participate in a cooking class in Peru . Together with wellness tourism, responsible tourism is on the rise, too. Travel experts predict that more tourists will want their money to go to locals, whether that means booking a locally owned hotel, purchasing locally made wares, or dining at a restaurant that uses locally sourced food. Travel companies are also committed to acting responsibly — one small cruising company has banned the use of plastic straws, cups, and water bottles, for example, and has also vowed that 90 percent of the food on each charter trip will be locally sourced, offering local support to the local communities they visit. Put all of the travel trends together, and you can vacation knowing you’re doing good for yourself and others.