Well-Being Travel Motivations
by Samantha LippiattIn this article we will cover what motivates travelers to take vacations focused on improving their health instead of simply heading to the beach for a fly and flop experience. To better understand what travel focused on well-being, called Wellness Tourism is read here.
The first-time wellness traveler almost always has a personal motivator and many regular guests enjoy these vacations to maintain their health and well-being, however they may also be working away at an individual goal or celebrating a success. We can also expect to see an increase in travel centered on health and wellness following the recent global pandemic, with a surge of interest in programs and retreats that center on improving resilience and boosting immunity. Many of us are now hyper-aware of the fragility of our health and so we see this reflected in those travelers looking to re-order their priorities focusing on preventative healthcare.
When consulting with a possible wellness travel client along with collecting all their usual details, such as preferred location, dates, and budget, the main focus of the consult is to really understand the clients ‘why’. This will really help you to uncover the ideal property or retreat to ensure your client the best opportunity to achieve the outcome they are seeking.
Motivators can be either positive or negative but are always powerful and personal. Sometimes the individual may struggle to articulate this and, as a consultant, you will need to guide them. Through thorough consulting and your expertise you’ll be able to uncover these motivators together.
Below is a list of examples of Positive and Negative motivators. Can you think of any others?
Positive
- Improve health, fitness, de-stress, or learn something new
- Celebrate a milestone such as a significant birthday, completing a project, finishing school or university
- Prevent burnout
- Break before career or other positive life change
- Healthy solo break
- Post illness recovery
Negative Motivators
- Illness of client or someone close to them
- Grief – loss of a loved one
- Adrenal fatigue
- Break down of marriage / relationship
- Redundancy
- Medical recommendation / advice
With nearly all the above, the client will want to act and travel soon, so it is best to uncover and understand the motivator as early as possible in the consultation process. This also helps to set the intention for your client’s trip. They know what they hope to achieve and can clearly evaluate this at the end of their vacation, they can see the results of their investment in themselves. Many wellness travelers will return again and again to reset and celebrate their on-going focus on living their best healthy life.
Contributor:
Samantha Lippiatt is an entrepreneur, lifestyle by design advocate and co-founder of dedicated wellness travel company Health and Fitness Travel, which assists travelers from all over the world. Samantha has an unbridled enthusiasm for all things travel, health and fitness and is committed to providing healthy vacations that improve lives.
Learn more about Samantha here.