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Pilates, massage and physiotherapy. Younger travellers want relaxation and weight management but place greater emphasis on improving fitness, natural renewal and optimal performance, with activities such as Pilates, personal training and stretching. “We see a generational shift from restorative wellness and therapeutic care towards proactive fitness, performance and preventative wellbeing,” says Floor. Personalised South African luxury wellness travellers want credible expertise and personalised solutions that can help them achieve specific outcomes. There is now more differentiation between a traditional spa retreat and a comprehensive wellness destination, where the experience is structured around the individual and designed to support meaningful lifestyle changes that extend beyond the holiday. “A wellness stay provides not only the opportunity to make changes, but also the expert guidance, structure, surroundings, nutrition and daily routines that facilitate those changes and make them easier to integrate into everyday life once the guest returns home.” Tailored Floor says South African travellers are showing interest in wellness resorts that can tailor stays around individual health goals and concerns. Close to home, Santé Wellness Retreat & Spa in Paarl is attracting interest from guests looking to combine health optimisation with the more indulgent aspects of a luxury wellness stay. Its offering includes a personalised approach, health optimisation and a focus on nourishing cuisine. Chiva-Som Hua Hin in Thailand is one destination attracting South African travellers, including a number of repeat clients. The Thai resort has developed its wellness offering over more than 30 years and combines expertise across fitness, physiotherapy, nutrition, holistic health, spa and aesthetics, with programmes tailored to individual guests. REV V Wellness Resort in Bali is also gaining momentum in the South African market. Its offering combines modern medical science, diagnostics and biohacking technologies with holistic wellness practices and ancestral Balinese traditions. Opportunity Floor says many high-end South Africans currently book their wellness stays directly with resorts. Wellness can involve highly personal health concerns that travellers may not want to discuss with their travel agent. Clients may also be unsure whether their agent understands specialist wellness resorts and the programmes they offer. This results in clients who know what they want researching and booking their stay directly. This creates a clear opportunity for agents who develop specialist wellness knowledge. Exclusive Serenity supports the trade with wellness webinars and product training aimed at helping agents understand the differences between hotels offering spa facilities and dedicated wellness destinations, as well as the range of wellness concepts and programmes available. This is a good commercial opportunity. Floor says wellness trips do generate repeat business as clients return to destinations for further programmes or continue their wellness journey with the same resort. These are also typically higher-value bookings, offering meaningful commission potential. She believes wellness can therefore develop into a lucrative niche for travel agents, built around longer- term client relationships rather than individual holidays. The evolution of the sector is also challenging perceptions that travellers need to sacrifice traditional luxury to prioritise their wellbeing. Floor points to the culinary offering as one example, saying wellness cuisine has moved far beyond restrictive perceptions of healthy food. “Luxury and wellness are no longer mutually exclusive. In fact, wellness travel is becoming an important part of the future of luxury travel.” For Floor, it’s about the purpose of the trip. Wellness is no longer simply an amenity added to a luxury holiday but, increasingly, the reason for travelling in the first place.
