The future is calm: Exploring the wellness tourism industry

If the new year has inspired you to rest, relax, and recharge, travellers across the world are right there with you. The wellness tourism industry is currently experiencing a boom, with more and more travellers seeking out experiences that leave them feeling revitalized. The wellness tourism industry is expecting to reach a global value of $1.4 trillion by 2027. On average, international wellness travellers spent 41 per cent more than typical international travellers in 2022.

Wellness tourism is defined as “travel associated with the pursuit of maintaining or enhancing one’s personal wellbeing,” according to the Global Wellness Institute. For some travellers, that may look like a yoga retreat at a peaceful mountainside lodge, while for others, wellness tourism looks like a guided bike ride through the hoodoos. 

Whatever wellness tourism means to travellers, operators across the province are offering experiences that meet this demand.

1. The Woods Experience

Nestled in beautiful Yellowhead County, The Woods Experience provides a peaceful sanctuary for those looking to reconnect with nature. Offering stays in tents, cabins, and traditional tipis, this Métis-owned operation also features a spa in their boreal forest surroundings. Guests can unwind in wood-fired hot tubs and barrel saunas or dip into the cold plunge for a total sensory experience. Guests are welcome to participate in an authentic trapline experience, fostering a deeper appreciation for the earth and its resources.

2. Nikka Yuko Japanese Garden

Designed in the traditional Japanese style, this garden instantly inspires a sense of serenity amongst visitors. Opened in 1967, Nikka Yuko Japanese Garden features Canadian flora in a Japanese layout, a nod to the Canadian Japanese history of Southern Alberta. With perfectly pruned trees, water features, bridges, and pathways, this classic garden uses tradition methods of simplicity, borrowed view, and a hide and reveal technique to calm the minds of viewers. Guests are invited to enjoy yoga in the pavilion, partake in a traditional tea ceremony, or simply take a meditative walk.

3. Mahikan Trails

For wellness travellers looking to reconnect with the earth, a medicine walk may be just what the doctor ordered. At Mahikan Trails, Indigenous Knowledge Keeper, Brenda Holder, shares the medicinal benefits of local flora and fauna that have been healing people for centuries. Operating in both the winter and summer, Mahikan Trails opens visitors’ eyes to nature’s many gifts that are all around us. Mahikan Trails also offers soap, salve, butter, and lotion making workshops using natural ingredients from the surrounding area.

Whether visitors are looking for a tranquil retreat or an earthy, educational experience, wellness is quickly becoming a leading traveller demand.

If your tourism business offers physical activity, relaxing views, or nature-based activities, consider tapping into this booming tourism trend by marketing your business as a wellness experience.