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America’s growing concerns about wellness have had an impact on many different industries. Now, wellness is even making an impact on the travel and tourism industry, in the form of wellness retreats. Wellness retreats can take several different forms, from spas offering various treatments to resorts that offer yoga classes and healthy food options. According to Spafinder US, the concept of wellness retreats is having an impact on spa businesses around the country and the world, both remote destinations and spas that are closer to cities. So how many are generally interested in wellness retreats? And how might that interest impact the industry?
Travel Habits
In Ask Your Target Market’s latest survey, 10% of respondents said that they’ve traveled for at least an overnight vacation within the past week. 12% have done so within the past month. 16% have traveled within the past three months. 17% have within the past year. 28% said it’s been over a year since they last traveled. And 18% said they aren’t travelers.In general, regular hotels seem to be the most popular accommodations for travelers; 66% said they normally stay in hotels when they travel. However, 41% said they stay with friends and family when they travel. 8% stay in campgrounds. 6% stay in bed and breakfasts. 4% stay at spa resorts. 3% stay in RVs. Another 3% stay in time share resorts. And 5% use other types of accommodations such as cabins or cruise ships.
Spa Vacations
In general, 80% of those who travel at least on occasion said that they find traveling to be enjoyable. 69% said they find travel to be relaxing. 83% said they could use a relaxing vacation right now. 81% would like to take relaxing vacations regularly. 62% said they consider themselves to be healthy. And 86% consider health and wellness to be important.More specifically, 10% of travelers said that they have visited spa resorts or destinations multiple times. 16% said they’ve done so at least once. And 74% never have. Large resorts like Sandals, Turtle Bay and even Disney were mentioned by respondents as popular spa destinations. In addition, hotel chains like Marriott and Hilton were also named as popular spa destinations for travelers. Overall, 75% of those who have visited spa destinations said that they were at least somewhat satisfied with the experience.
Wellness Retreats
Looking forward, 47% of overall respondents said they would be at least somewhat interested in going on a wellness retreat where they can relax, receive spa treatments and take part in other wellness related activities like yoga and healthy meals. Of those who were at least somewhat interested in wellness retreats, 31% said that they would be likely to actually go on a wellness retreat within the next year. 48% said they would be unlikely to do so. And 20% were neutral. Those who consider themselves to be healthy were more likely to be interested in spa retreats. And those who have already visited spa destinations were significantly more likely to be interested in wellness retreats.
Key Takeaways
In general, it seems that wellness retreats may be poised for growth as more respondents learn about the concept and consider it in place of their normal hotel vacation accommodations. Targeting consumers who are already interested in health and wellness in their everyday life can be a good path for spas and other companies offering wellness retreats, as can targeting consumers who have already stayed at spas in the past. In addition, wellness retreats don’t have to only come from dedicated spa resorts. Even more general resorts and hotels can offer healthy options for travelers to attract some of those consumers who might not be ready to dedicate their entire vacations to wellness retreats.You can view the complete survey results in the widget below and be sure to click “Open Full Report” to take advantage of all the chart and filter options.Photo Credit: Spa treatment room by Merlin Phuket under CC BY 2.0What do you want to know? If you need some consumer insights on a particular topic, let us know in the comments below and we’ll consider it for an upcoming survey post.
Results were collected on June 19 via AYTM’s online survey panel.
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