Page 32 - ARUBA TODAY

A32 FEATURE
Friday 8 June 2018
Wellness travel: It's more than just staying fit on the road

By KELLI KENNEDY workshop in spots like Gla-
Associated Press cier National Park.
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) Zen travelers are shelling
— It's one thing when hotels out thousands to follow
open fitness centers, but celebrity trainers to exotic
quite another when fitness destinations. Tracy Ander-
centers open hotels. son, who is Gwyneth Pal-
Luxe gym Equinox is open- trow's business partner and
ing a hotel in New York's the trainer who shapes Jen-
new Hudson Yards neigh- nifer Lopez's famous booty,
borhood next year in a hosts a handful of intimate
move that embodies the weekends each year with
evolution of wellness travel. less than 40 guests. Par-
Most hotels have beefed ticipants sweat alongside
up fitness options — you the fitness guru and get to
can book rooms with sta- know her during fireside-
tionary bikes and rent work- style chats in cities includ-
out clothes — but wellness ing Miami and Aspen. The
travel has become much weekends, priced at sever-
more than just keeping fit al thousand dollars, always
while on the road. Increas- sell out.
ingly it's become the point Shakira's trainer Anna Kai-
of the journey. And it's ser leads a few trips a year,
bringing in big dollars. This July 24, 2017 photo provided by Wanderlust, participants work out on paddle boards during including recent stints in
Whether it's foraging for Wanderlust Squaw Valley 2017, in North Lake Tahoe, Calif. Ojai and Austin. And re-
your own medicinal herbs Associated Press treats for the hot workout
in Peru, cycling across du jour The Class by Taryn
the California coastline or 2020. NPD. "That's a huge shift in coconut plantation in Ko Toomey have all sold out,
spending several thousand The travel trend has mir- spending. We're not build- Samui, Thailand, or outdoor often within one hour.
dollars to workout along- rored the shift in retail. ing wardrobes anymore. tai chi in Marseille, France, Toomey's guests pay be-
side celeb trainer Tracy An- Gone are the days when We're building memories with a view of the sea on tween $2,000 and $6,000
derson in Aspen, Colorado, shoppers head to a brick- and the photos we're click- one side and a palace on for her cathartic workouts
wellness tourists made 691 and-mortar store to buy ing on our phones and the other. with options for beachside
million trips in 2015, accord- shoes that they could buy posting on social media "We are seeing (cruise) massages and picturesque
ing to the Global Wellness online. Instead, they're be- are the fruits of our labor." lines of every ilk and size hikes in spots like Mustique
Institute. ing lured to stores by expe- The Curtain Bluff resort in embrace healthy eating, and Mexico.
In the past, wellness vaca- riences. Antigua launched a new fitness, all sorts of positive, Roughly 100,000 wellness
tions straddled between Similarly, vacationers are wellness concierge where new kinds of approaches lovers attended uber-pop-
starvation-style bootcamps less excited about lying on guests can meet with the to yoga and that kind of ular Wanderlust festivals
or relaxing spa weekends the beach with umbrella team at no extra charge thing," said CruiseCritic edi- across North America last
to detox from an unhealthy drinks. They too want a to design their own fitness tor at large Carolyn Spen- year, partaking in every-
lifestyle. But as self-care has more immersive experi- program including every- cer Brown. thing from yoga and medi-
evolved into a daily goal, ence, like a yoga medita- thing from zumba to pi- Savvy athleisure retailers tation to stand-up paddle-
it's found an obvious match tion retreat or surf camp, lates. Amanpuri's resort in are also seizing on it. Lulule- boarding and spinning in
in travel. International and to connect with others and Phuket, Thailand, created mon and Free People, a spots like Oahu, Hawaii,
domestic wellness tourism revitalize themselves, ex- four wellness immersions, bohemian line popular with and Squaw Valley, Califor-
brought in $563 billion in perts say. where guests can focus yogis, have both branched nia.
2015, up from $489 billion "(Fitness has) gone from be- on fitness, weight loss, di- into wellness tourism. Free Meghan Aftosmis loved
in 2013, according to the ing an activity to now it's a gestive cleanses or mental People's retreats started a Wanderlust's Vermont
Global Wellness Institute. destination. It's a purpose," awareness during a three- few years ago where par- event so much last year
Wellness travel is expected said Marshal Cohen, an to 14-night vacation. Of- ticipants can exercise and that she's heading back in
to grow to $808 billion by analyst for the trend group ferings include reiki, an al- try journaling or tarot card a few weeks.q
ternative stress-reduction
therapy, and life-coaching.
The trend is even spilling
over to cruises, once ste-
reotyped as weight-gain-
ing vacations with bottom-
less buffets. Now, wellness
can be the point of the
cruise. Holland America
Line, in partnership with O,
The Oprah Magazine, has
programs for meditation
and healthy living.
Cruise passengers can
also combine wellness with
sightseeing in ports of call.
This June 16, 2017 photo provided by Harrison Liu, shows guests Take a shore excursion on a
from a Regent Seven Seas cruise doing tai chi outdoors on a Regents Seven Seas cruise, In this June 21, 2017 photo provided by Wanderlust, participants
port call in Marseille, France, with a view of the sea. for example, and you might work out during Wanderlust Stratton 2017, in Bondville, VT.
Associated Press Associated Press
end up doing yoga on a