We’re all searching for wellness retreats in 2020

Google searches for wellness retreats have been up approximately 182% in the last year. As we all get a little wiser about the way we spend out down time and its value when it comes to our health, we’re getting more proactive about making sure our holidays really help us achieve our wellbeing goals.

As a result, it seems that holidays are now more about taking time away from daily stress and routine, and having a moment for ourselves. We’re increasingly likely to forgo alcohol-soaked itineraries, and even cultural excursions, in favour of wellness retreats and mindful getaways.

That doesn’t just mean finding somewhere lovely and taking time out, but also embracing activities to enhance physical and mental health. From yoga and meditation to silent stays and Ayurvedic practices, these trips have physical and mental wellbeing at their heart, and use a wealth of different methods to have you thinking and feeling differently by the end of your stay.

According to the Global Wellness Summit, there are several key areas in which we are all taking wellbeing and wellbeing retreats to new heights. Importantly, we’re really ensuring that wellbeing becomes a greater part of our overall lifestyle, taking cues from the professional industry so we can continue it at home between wellbeing retreats.

“The art of healing comes from nature, not from the physician. Therefore the physician must start from nature, with an open mind.”

Paracelsus, 16th century physician

Key areas interest is growing in wellbeing and wellbeing retreats:

• ‘Well fashion’ - in particular ensuring that what we wear is environmentally friendly.
• Tackling problems such as over-tourism to ensure that our wellbeing retreats are in harmony with the wellbeing of the planet.
• Increasingly embracing the healing power of nature, and taking it seriously for its real health benefits.
• Taking meditation to new heights and embracing the different types of meditation.
• Looking at fragrance and the role it has to play in wellbeing.
• Personalised nutrition and how it can become more mainstream.

What can we expect from wellness retreats in 2020

Historically, the UK’s spas have lagged behind their European counterparts when it comes to really meaningful wellbeing retreats. However, with consumer knowledge and demand growing rapidly, the industry has responded in kind, investing heavily in knowledge and facilities that embrace holistic as well as science-led practices and treatments for optimum 21st century health.

One of the key areas in which the industry is responding to the wants and needs for more meaningful wellness approaches as part of our leisure time, is with an increasingly personal approach. So, what can we expect from wellness retreats in 2020? Firstly, that enjoying ourselves and looking after ourselves are no longer mutually exclusive. And secondly, that the world is no longer paying lip service to wellbeing - it’s meaningful and above all, it’s personalised.