In the past, vacations were ways for many to shed responsibilities and relax. That trend, however, seems to be as old as Disney World, as the idea of wellness trips slowly take over the vacation scene.
This week on “Take Care,” print, television, and digital journalist Ismat Sarah Mangla talks about the new travelling trend and what fuels people to be active during their vacations.
Mangla currently writes for the International Business Times where her recent article covered wellness tourism.
People’s lives in the social media era can only be described as one thing: hectic.
“People are living very hectic lives and it kind of becomes this endless cycle of noise,” Mangla says
From work to home to anywhere else it’s hard to unplug. Wellness tourism, as Mangla says, is a way for people to do just that while remaining active.
When the two words, wellness tourism, first paired together they stood for vacations that included spas, massages and a general relaxation aura. Mangla says that those types of trips are old news.
“Wellness travel has expanded beyond [spas] and into the area of experiential travel that combines well-being, fitness, mind and body connections and soulful experiences,” Manlga says.
Travelers have shown a shift towards wanting experiences during their time away from home instead of relaxation. That means no more museum tours or zoo visits because as Manlga says, “people want a little bit more from their travels instead of just being passive observers.”
Manlga also says that vacationers are looking to connect with locals and experience the location through the resident’s eye.
“[Travelers] want to actually do something,” Mangla says. “They want to connect with locals, eat local foods and feel everything with all senses.”
Companies, like Pravassa, Mangla says, are capitalizing on wellness tourism by creating trip itineraries centered on categories like stress reduction, cultural involvement, physical activity, spiritual connection and food.
“They are taking a holistic view of how can our whole mind, body and soul benefit from these trips,” Mangla says. “Even hotels, like Westin Hotels, and cruises are jumping on this bandwagon because they are realizing that this is what their customers want.”
Westin even started their own wellness movement focused on educating and bring wellness options to all customers.
With wellness tourism trending in the positive direction, relaxation vacations might soon become a thing of the past. But in a society that is always on the move it was only a matter of time for vacations to finally catch up.