After months of isolation, fear, and being locked down in one place due to the COVID-19 global pandemic, it’s finally time to get out. The past year and a half undoubtedly brought lots of challenging moments, like working from home, avoiding people, and homeschooling the kids. Now, it’s time to de-stress and recharge your energy levels and the travel sector knows this.
At the Global Wellness Summit held in November 2020, the participants agreed that the future of traveling will be in boosting immunity, stress relief, and focus on nature. Care for mental and physical health with eco-friendly behavior will be at the high on the list of interests of post-COVID-19 travelers. So, let’s see what kind of sustainable wellness and travel trends are the most popular in 2021.
Solo travel
Going alone on a wellness vacation has been on the rise in the past decade. This year, they are perfect for practicing self-care and give yourself a break from all the stress and worry. Find the destination and offer that best suits your personality, from a meditation retreat to a five-star all-inclusive stay.
Solo travel offers an opportunity to work on your spiritual health and reconnecting with yourself. It’s about healing from the inside out, finding purpose, and slowly getting used to social interactions.
Digital detox getaways
When you look at 2020, it was a year full of Zoom calls, chats, video games, emails, and lots of other things that kept you glued to your smartphone, tablet, and laptop. This type of technology exposure requires a digital detox — traveling to a destination where you can disconnect and de-stress.
Turning your gadgets off is a great way to start a wellness journey and take a break from all the information. Look for retreats that specifically offer this type of travel to make sure your opportunities to go online are limited. You can go alone, with family, or friends, as long as they’re up for some analog activities, like horse riding or pilates.
Rise of the eco-tourism
Eco-tourism is ideal for travelers who want to do something good for themselves and the planet. It’s about choosing destinations that respect environmental sustainability. This can include retreats that use solar energy, recycling, and locally grown products.
One of the most popular eco-destination in Costa Rica, attracting travelers with its trailblazing efforts to provide green tourism. But, other places have followed suit, like Bali, Australia, and the Philippines, offering luxurious and affordable deals so everyone can participate in lowering the carbon footprint.
Yoga and mindfulness retreats
If your priority is to work on stress management, then plan a long vacation from 10 to 15 days at the yoga retreat. While you lived a slower life during the lockdown, it was far from being relaxed. Working from home, dealing with COVID-19 anxiety, and trying to get along with your house members are not easy to deal with.
Many yoga retreats concentrate on practicing mindfulness through breathing techniques and meditations. They offer programs that include morning yoga sessions, vegan meals, guided meditation, and walks in nature. India is one of the top destinations for yoga, but western countries are catching up with this trend. The best thing about this type of travel is that you will carry home everything you learned so you can continue with your mindfulness exercises.
Glamping break
Camping may not be anyone’s forte, but the new trend in sustainable travel will get you close enough to the real thing. It’s called glamping and is a combination of camping and modern luxuries, like electricity, indoor plumbing, and beds. It’s a nice option for family travel — sitting around the fire with kids and roasting s’mores but going to sleep in a comfy bed after a shower.
Glamping units can be other than tents, like pods, yurts, and lodges. Colder destinations offer wood burners and have insulation, but some even use solar-gained electricity for heating. Some travel packages even offer spa amenities, like hot tubs, massages, and meditation.
Family wellness trips
You’ve spent a lot of time with your kids and spouse in an enclosed space in 2020 that caused a lot of domestic stress to pile up. Now it’s time to de-stress together at some family-friendly wellness destination and rebuild your bond. This type of traveling offers many activities for couples and children separately, and together.
Pack kids bikes and helmets, hiking shoes, and their activewear so they can join you in morning yoga, outings in nature, and other family programs. Some destinations offer dance, art workshops, and other less strenuous but equally satisfying activities perfect for parents and their offspring.
Nature-centered destinations
The healing properties of nature are well documented across various studies. It can normalize blood pressure, enhance mood, reduce stress, and improve the immune system. Going to a remote location surrounded by trees, water, and animals can bring a greater appreciation of life and make you self-aware.
From the tropical paradise of the Thailand islands to the waterfalls of the Swiss Alps, nature-centered destinations help you de-stress by merely being there. You can take a walk, enjoy the view, or sign up for more demanding activities, like rafting or rock climbing. For some people, sound, scents, and sights of nature are enough to feel alive and invigorated — everything else is a bonus.
You can also relax by taking pleasure in nature’s gifts, like clean lakes, clear rivers, and soothing seas. Enjoy these bodies of water, and let their gentle, aquatic magic wash away your worries for a little while. Take that much-needed dip in your favorite comfortable SwimSpot swimwear. You can bask in the warm weather with it, swim, float, and just have fun with the right fit.
Active holiday
Active holidays have been a trend for a while, but now they are through the roof. A lot of people took to riding bikes, hiking, running, and other outdoor exercises during social distancing. One of the travel trends in 2021 will be doing all that but far away from home.
Golf excursions, cycling tours, and mountaineering expeditions are some of the activities that can become the center of your vacation. Don’t worry about your fitness level, since there are offers for everyone, even the elderly, kids, and those out of shape.
Final thoughts
Your mental and physical health should be the No. 1 priority. These sustainable wellness and travel trends in 2021 will probably continue the next year, with more options as the global pandemic is taken under control. So, start planning your travels in the time since some destinations may be fully booked for months.
The Covid-19 pandemic is not over so the travel trends for 2021 is not much, I should say.
I could opt for any one of these right about now! It’s amazing the mental toll Covid has taken and also what it has taught us about slowing down and self reflection. I think the lessons of Covid will def impact what we want out of travel and how we approach it going forward.