Wellness Travel Association Reveals 2021 Survey Results

The Wellness Tourism Association’s (WTA) 2021 Wellness Travel Consumer Survey has been released. 

The overall top five offerings rated “extremely important” were:

  1. A certified safe and clean hotel environment 
  2. A purified water system throughout the hotel 
  3. Access to fitness activities in nature 
  4. A hotel environment with sustainable and green practices in place 
  5. Guest rooms with an air filtration system to guarantee purified air  

The ranking for “A certified safe and clean hotel environment” ranked number one across the three main generational cohorts (Millennials, Gen X, and Baby Boomers).

The overall top five rated “not important at all” were:

  1. Access to mental health professionals 
  2. Access to fitness trackers and apps that can monitor things like heart rate in real-time 
  3. Access to nutritionists  
  4. Access to medical practitioners for one-on-one consultations or medical testing that could predict a predisposition to future medical issues  
  5. Access to other wellness practitioners

“What ONE thing NOT mentioned in the 16 items would be a wellness “Must-Have” when you begin to travel again.” Three of the top themes were:

  1. Safety in terms of physical safety plus safe from exposure to COVID 
  2. Access to stillness and quiet spaces 
  3. Nature and the outdoors

The survey asked respondents to rank what might influence them most when it came to booking wellness-travel over the next two years and results were: price, flexibility (with bookings and cancellation policies), trust (in the supplier), and destination management (the manner in which local lawmakers have managed the pandemic).  

The majority of respondents are North America, while: 40 percent were between the ages 26 to 39 (Millennials); 25 percent between the ages of 40 to 54 (Gen X); and 26 percent between the ages of 55 to 74 (Baby Boomers).  A total of 84 percent of respondents reported they participate in wellness activities when they travel, and 61 percent reported that they are currently planning a wellness vacation.

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