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There’s no denying that wellness is having a and into more tranquil, less-touristy locales that Capitalizing on a Legacy
moment — from the organic and farm-to-table could use the economic boost. In the meantime,
food movements to the rise of clean and natural quick-adapting destinations will push this new
beauty products to, you guessed it, travel. The hook of “travelers going home in a healthier state
Global Wellness Institute estimates that wellness than when they arrived,” all the while reaping
tourism grew into a $639 billion market in 2017, the benefits of a wellness tourism growth rate
and that number only stands to rise. that’s more than twice as fast as tourism overall.
“I don’t think wellness is a fad, but rather it’s a Putting a Label on It
change in society, and what society now expects,”
said Andrew Gibson, co-founder of the Wellness The Romagna region of Italy got in early on the
Tourism Association. “We’ve seen wellness become wellness-tourism action. The founder of Techn-
a full-blown industry.” ogym, a high-end fitness equipment company,
always knew the region had a reputation for
To take advantage of this momentum, smart active residents, relatively high incomes, and
destinations have begun prioritizing wellness healthy eating habits. Inspired by Silicon Valley,
in their messaging, luring tourists who want to he dubbed the slice of Italy “Wellness Valley”
escape otherwise stressful lives or further their back in 2002.
quest toward inner peace. And so far, it’s working:
World travelers made 830 million wellness trips In 2006, the region launched the “Visit Wellness
in 2017, 139 million more than in 2015, according Valley” campaign, promoting itself to potential
to the Global Wellness Institute. If the upward visitors by certifying its spas and accommoda-
trend continues — as experts predict — in 2019, tions and highlighting must-see tourist sights
the numbers could reach 1 billion. and must-hike trails on its website.
Clearly, destinations already considered wellness-ori- “ We wanted to let people know that here,
ented, like Hawaii or St. Lucia, would be wise to you can go f rom yoga by the sea to hiking in
heavily market to this new type of traveler — which the mountains in only an hour,” said Barbara
shouldn’t be too hard a task. Other locales, more Candolfini, the Wellness Valley marketing and
known for their “vice” offerings (Las Vegas, for media relations leader for the U.S. and Canada.
starters), will likely need to play up their existing It’s possible the region may even have joined
spa services or the notion that there’s “something the movement a little early, before the idea of
for everyone” to get in on this huge slice of the an all-encompassing wellness trip entered most
tourism pie. As for places with little to no wellness travelers’ minds.
ties? They’ll either have to do some marketing
soul-searching or skip the trend entirely, which “The public now knows about wellness and what
could mean a major missed opportunity for revenue. they want, but a decade earlier, there might have
been trepidation,” said Gibson.
Still, it may not be all rosy for destinations with
an established wellness scene. Smaller commu- No longer. These days, thanks to the public’s
nities known for their health-minded residents newfound appreciation for wellness — and the
may start seeing too much of an influx of yoga, region’s clever messaging around it, which has
hiking, and spa-going visitors after a big marketing included slogans such as “Wellness Valley: The
campaign. While that’s good for their economy, land which makes you feel well” — the number
it may chip away at the residents’ quality of life, of visitors keeps climbing, said Candolfini. Local
thus altering what made these destinations so businesses are catering to a set of travelers
wellness-focused to begin with. who’ve already seen the likes of Rome, Florence,
and Venice, and want to escape the tourist mobs
The hope, however, is that if marketed in a strate- and experience a more authentic, relaxing slice
gic way, wellness travel can prevent overtourism, of Italian life.
drawing people away from beyond-crowded cities
54 Skift
Santa Fe. “The concept was to pair the natural
environment here with our reputation of relaxing
As for a city like Boulder, Colorado, it’s been and rejuvenating.”
known as one of the epicenters of the natural
movement since the 1960s, thanks in no small part Entire countries, too, are using wellness as a
to its Rocky Mountains backdrop, easy access to draw: A recent Switzerland tourism newsletter
nature, and farm-to-table food scene. Last year, promoted the Certified Wellness Destinations
National Geographic and Gallup named it the across the country (Switzerland Tourism gives
happiest U.S. city. Thus, it’s been easy for locals these locales the designation), from St. Moritz
to create a wellness hook. to Bad Ragaz as well as its Spa & Vitality Hotels.
“Wellness and health is part of our DNA — if you “We like to joke that a week in Switzerland
visit Boulder, year-round, it’s almost guaranteed is like spending a week at the spa,” said Alex
you’re going to be outside, breathing in the fresh Herrmann, director of Americas at Switzerland
air,” said Kim Farin, director of marketing for the Tourism, noting the country’s popular pastimes:
Boulder Convention and Visitors Bureau. skiing, hiking, mountain biking, and eating well
in the fresh Alpine air. “Doing anything here in
To up their wellness-marketing game, Boulder Switzerland is like a wellness vacation.”
is using subtle messaging tactics in its tourism
newsletters. “People know Boulder is a wellness Looking ahead, Hermann is mulling how to
town, so we don’t want to hit people over the promote the medical aspect of tourism—for
head with it — it’s more of a gentle reminder example, visitors can come to a top spa for a
of all the outdoor activities you can do, and the checkup with a doctor, as well as get a massage
benefits of living this lifestyle,” said Farin. The and thermal soak. “Many f ive-star properties
strategy is paying off. have moved more into the medical side,” said
Herrmann. “Different people see different things
“There are more people on our trails than ever in wellness.”
before; we saw a 34 percent increase since our
last report 12 years ago,” said Farin, who notes a Opportunities Ahead
portion of these new visitors are novice hikers,
just getting into the scene. As of January 2018, If a destination isn’t traditionally known for
the city had seen a 24 percent increase in the wellness, that’s OK, too, said Gibson. With the
number of hotel rooms, added Farin. right marketing, most cities can still highlight
the well-being offerings they do have. “With
Meanwhile, cities like Santa Fe, which is known Detroit, for example, you hear a lot of news about
for its hot springs, are also finding it easy to tap industry and unemployment—but there could be
into the wellness movement. The city long ago more messaging about the spas and bike paths
built up a reputation for its enticing spas, but to show they’re moving in the right direction.”
now it’s also promoting itself as a destination
for all-encompassing wellness all year. Consider, More conventional wellness destinations also have
for example, the opportunity to do a “YogiHiker” room for growth, said Gibson. A resident of Santa
excursion (spas even offer oxygen treatments for Monica, California, himself, he is baffled that the
the high-altitude weary), or go rafting on the beachside city hasn’t done much to publicize
Rio Grande river, or visit the only few-years-old its position at the forefront of health. “I see so
desert wellness resort, Sunrise Springs, which much wellness here—it’s impossible not to be
has a whole team of “Thrive Guides.” healthy,” he said. “But they haven’t really gotten
the message out. I don’t think full capitalization
“We freshened up our ad campaign last fall to around wellness has been realized.”
show a woman getting a massage, but the image
flows into mountains and scenery,” said Joanne
Hudson, public relations manager for Tourism
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