Australia ticks all of the boxes when it comes to what’s important for travellers selecting a wellness tourism destination, offering sought-after fresh, healthy and locally grown produce, pristine nature and wildlife, refreshing spas and springs, refined sustainability practices, award-winning accommodation and venues and local cultural connection.

“The fact that Australia is the most appealing wellness destination primes the country for mindful travellers who have a sustainable “tread lightly” mindset, who want to connect to local cultures and communities, travel out of peak seasons and are traditionally high spenders. With a myriad of fresh, healthy and locally grown food, pristine nature and wildlife, refreshing spas and springs, sustainable practices, award-winning accommodation and venues and local cultural connection, Australia ticks all of the boxes when it comes to what’s important for travellers selecting a wellness tourism destination.

Australia has been ranked as the most desirable wellness tourism destination in the world by Industry tourism leaders globally as part of the Global Wellness Institute’s (GWI) Wellness Tourism Initiative’s new survey that was released today.

“The value consumers now place on personal wellbeing and mindfulness has boomed since the global pandemic with Wellness Tourism expecting a whopping 20.9% in visitor spend growth year on year through to 2025,” Droga said. In response to this growing demand globally for wellness travel, today also marks the launch of Well Traveller, a new website dedicated to showcasing Australia’s vast wellness escape offerings and encouraging people to take a break.

“The Well Traveller website has been launched last week to help support the growing number of travellers looking for experiences to meet their specific wellness needs.

“Pre-COVID, wellness travel in this country was valued at $14 billion USD and was growing at twice the rate of regular travel. Well Traveller, said that the findings of this global survey support the growing trend out of COVID that Wellness Tourism is the sweet spot for operators across the globe, with huge growth predicted over the next three years. Whether you are looking to nourish, heal, pamper, learn, play or move, our selection of wellness travel experiences have been curated for this traveller mindset delivering a range of price options,” Droga said.

Katherine Droga, Chair of the GWI Wellness Tourism Initiative, Founder of the first Wellness Tourism Summit (starting today) and This is great news for the tourism industry, whilst also telling us that the way people will travel is changing and for local operators to get ready for that,” she said.

“The flow-on effects of the pandemic have seen a significant increase in people prioritising their own mental, physical and social wellbeing. A hub of rich content, Well Traveller features destinations, operator listings, deals and events, interactive regional maps, must-have wellness travel merchandise and so much more. This is a phenomenal rate of growth and very reflective of the need state of our global travellers who are searching for more than just a getaway,” Droga said.

This goes far beyond simply forming a new exercise or health regime and instead is becoming a key driver for travel itself. With 39% of respondents voting green and gold, Australia pipped the top spot from Thailand by 1%, which came a close second at 38%, and Indonesia placed third with 32%.

Written by: Jill Walsh

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