Annually, we craft vision boards, establish goals, and work towards improving various facets of our lives. Prioritizing wellness in its many forms—physical, financial, emotional, or otherwise—often takes center stage. Frequently, the go-to advice for dealing with challenges like increased stress and relationship breakups is to escape. Thus, it’s understandable that wellness and travel are deeply intertwined.
Within the global travel industry, wellness tourism is steadily increasing. Its focus is on personal enrichment, transformative experiences, and, of course, self-care. According to the Global Wellness Institute, the primary key to wellness tourism is that people seek out healthy meals, new fitness routines, and/or immersive natural experiences that help them unwind. As this sector grows in popularity, it is forecasted to reach $1.3 trillion dollars this year. It will do so, thanks to these trends in wellness travel for 2025.
Embracing Your Inner Athlete
Accor, a hospitality company, predicts athletic adventures will be one of the biggest travel trends this year. People have turned to recreational sports to reach personal health goals, and hotels and resorts like Four Seasons Resort Maui at Wailea are taking notice by investing in top-notch pickleball courts for guests to enjoy. Destinations such as Grand Rapids are also adapting to the trend, which hosts the Beer City Open, a weeklong pickleball tournament, in the summer.
A New Kind of Social Scene
We’re familiar with gathering our friends for a much-needed spa day, gym sessions, or happy hour hangout, but social wellness clubs are the new crave, allowing people to meet their physical goals while forming connections with others. The combination of physical wellness and social interactions benefits our overall health. At Remedy Place in New York City, guests can opt for group fitness challenges, social acupuncture, or breathwork ice baths. In the meditation cinema, guests can join each other for a movie while getting an IV drip of vitamins.
Travelers are increasingly adopting sauna culture as well, a widespread wellness practice in places like Finland, where many enjoy taking cold plunges with friends and family after a sauna session. In Old Town Alexandria, Lalita Method provides an opportunity to experience this Finnish tradition with infrared saunas and cold plunge pools. Following the sauna, guests can choose from services like assisted stretches or cupping sessions to usher in relaxation and serenity. As a bonus, Lalita Method is housed inside Hotel AKA Alexandria, nestled on a picturesque 18-mile trail along the Potomac River from George Washington Memorial Parkway to Mount Vernon.
Restorative H2O
Hot springs and thermal waters are believed to have healing properties that can reduce inflammation, increase circulation, and help reduce chronic pain. As such, travelers are seeking destinations around the globe (like geothermal lagoons in Iceland and Cascate Del Mulino in Italy) to indulge in the healing power of water amid breathtaking views of nature. If you cannot venture out of the country, there are over 1,000 hot springs nationwide. Stateside, one of my favorites are the indoor soaking tubes and outdoor mineral pool fed by the Agua Caliente Hot Mineral Spring found at The Spa at Séc-he in Palm Springs.
Retreats for the Wellness Curious
For those curious about wellness retreats, this year, a personalized experience such as FTLO Travel’s Mindfulness and Margarita Retreat in Oaxaca, Mexico, could be the perfect addition to your travel itinerary. They say, “We like to think of it as a wellness retreat with a side of mezcal!” This five-day retreat combines traditional wellness practices like journaling, intention-setting workshops, and natural sunset meditation with the pleasures we all appreciate, such as cultural experiences, infinity pools, delicious tacos, and mezcal, of course.
Another wellness retreat to add to your radar is Aura Wellness Week, hosted by UNICO 20º 87º Hotel Riveria Maya each April. The event focuses on five key components: wellness, nutrition, mental health, beauty, and physical fitness in an engaging way. Participate in activities such as a cooking class, pool party, cold plunge, or floating yoga throughout the week with breathtaking views of the Caribbean.
An Adventure at Home
For those who may not be ready to travel just yet to tap into wellness, you can still embrace transformative practices from across the globe from the comfort of your home with the Passport to Wellness Global Spa Box. Dawn Michelle Hardy, founder and chief curator, guarantees that each box will introduce users to the diversity of wellness practices and products not found in their local drugstore. The boxes incorporate worldwide wellness brands (like Botanika in Morocco and Royal Aloe Aruba), destination-inspired audio and video playlists, and local tasting elements. Perfect for those with wanderlust looking for innovative new ways to pamper themselves.
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