Skift Take
Luxury tour operators have incredible advantages over wellness industry competitors in crafting dynamic, immersive wellness-first travel experiences. However, they must adapt to this new market quickly to avoid stagnation in crafting luxury that is better-suited to past generations.
Luxury tour operators are introducing more wellness-inclusive tours to greet demand as well as attract a new demographic of conscious and health-first consumers.
Abercrombie & Kent earlier this year introduced its new wellness-inspired Luxury Small Group Journeys, which aims for a balance of its deeply cultural and luxurious itineraries alongside options built to engage the mind, body and spirit. There are currently tours in Southeast Asia, India, Kenya and Peru.
“I’ve been watching this trend growing significantly for the last year or two. There is an interest in wellness travel that is not going away any time soon. It also aligns really well with our current brands, which connect people to places through luxury accommodations, and, more importantly, actual connections with the local people and the opportunity to have an in-depth, insider experience in each of those destinations," said Stefanie Schmudde, vice president of product development and operations at A&K.
"It is a way to stay true to what we do at our core, which is culturally immersive luxury travel, but also be able to introduce something new with the wellness focus."
Although A&K has standard tours in these same destinations, the wellness-inspired itineraries are in part distinguished by the smaller, more niche hotels included. For example, these guests would stay in the Rosewood Hotel in Luang Prabang, Laos, where they can stay in a villa or tent (Is any one choosing the tent?), the
