There was a time permit me a brief wander down memory lane when travel perks were as predictable as an airline chicken dinner. A lounge here, a points bonus there, and perhaps, if the stars aligned and the load factor behaved, an upgrade that felt like winning Tatts.
But travel, like all good things, has grown up.
And according to fresh global research from Priority Pass, it has grown up rather beautifully into something far more personal, far more emotional, and, for those paying attention, far more profitable.
We are now staring down what can only be described as a USD 3 trillion opportunity. Not built on routes or rooms, but on something infinitely more compelling: human desire. The desire to feel better. To live better. To come home with more than just duty-free.
The Trip Is No Longer the Point
Let’s get one thing straight. People haven’t stopped travelling. They’ve simply stopped travelling for the sake of it.
Priority Pass’s research spanning more than 12,000 travellers across 20 markets reveals a quiet but decisive shift. Nearly half of sports and wellness travellers are motivated by wellness. A smaller but no less passionate 20% travel for sport. And then there’s the clever third 33% who’ve worked out you can have both.
It’s a neat trick, really. A football match in Barcelona becomes a gateway to tapas, neighbourhood wanderings, and perhaps a yoga session to recover from both. A wellness retreat in Bali morphs into a deeper exploration of culture, cuisine, and, let’s be honest, a slightly improved version of oneself.
Travel, in short, has found its purpose again.
Asia Pacific: Young, Restless, and Curious
If you want to see this shift in full flight, look no further than Asia Pacific.
Here, younger travellers, those endlessly energetic Millennials and Gen Z, are not just participating, they’re setting the pace. Some 46% actively seek out sporting events when they travel. Not content with merely watching, they build entire journeys around them.
And they don’t stop there.
Nearly half use these events as a springboard to explore somewhere new. It’s a mindset that feels refreshingly old-school. The best journeys, after all, have always been the ones that wander a little off script.
Wellness: The Quiet Revolution
Now, about wellness.
Once upon a time, it sat politely at the luxury end of the market spa weekends, detox menus, and the occasional earnest meditation session. Today, it has slipped into the mainstream with the sort of inevitability that suggests it was always meant to be there.
Across the Asia Pacific, 61% of travellers say they travel to relax and disconnect. Fifty-two percent are chasing better mental health. Thirty-nine percent are looking to improve their physical well-being.
And then there’s the statistic that tells you everything you need to know about modern life: nearly one in three younger travellers are booking trips specifically to digitally detox.
Imagine that. Travelling halfway across the world simply to escape your phone.
If that doesn’t qualify as progress or perhaps a quiet cry for help, I’m not sure what does.
The Humble Payment Card Gets a Makeover
Now here’s where it gets interesting. Very interesting.
For years, payment cards have played a supporting role in travel, useful, dependable, but rarely the star of the show. That is changing.
Globally, 56% of sports and wellness travellers now receive travel-related benefits through their primary payment card. More telling still, 79% say their interest in these experiences influenced their choice of card in the first place.
In the Asia Pacific, those figures climb to 64% and a rather emphatic 83%.
That’s not marketing fluff. That’s behaviour.
And behaviour, as any seasoned operator will tell you, is where the truth lives.
Spend More, Stay Longer, Feel Better
It doesn’t stop at sign-up.
Cardholders with travel benefits are using their cards more often, 46% say so, compared to just 29% of those without. Loyalty follows naturally. Over half of APAC cardholders with benefits feel valued. Nearly 40% feel loyal.
And perhaps most intriguingly, 37% are more likely to explore additional products from the same issuer.
In other words, treat people well and give them something they genuinely value, and they tend to stick around.
It’s hardly revolutionary. Just well executed.
From Transactions to Something Warmer
Christopher Evans, CEO of Collinson International, puts it plainly:
“Cardholders today are looking to brands for access to rewarding experiences that enrich their lives and reflect their true passions.”
There’s a quiet wisdom in that line.
For too long, financial services have been defined by transactions cold, efficient, and entirely forgettable. What this research suggests is a shift towards something warmer. Something human.
Evans again:
“These very memorable experiences create a more emotional connection that delivers lasting value and greater loyalty.”
And there it is. The word every brand chases and few truly earn: connection.
Asia Pacific Leads, Again
Todd Handcock, Collinson International’s Asia Pacific Executive Chair, sees the region as central to this story, and he’s not wrong.
With sports and wellness tourism in APAC expected to reach nearly USD 962 billion by 2030, the scale is undeniable.
“It reflects a fundamental shift in how travellers define value, prioritise wellbeing, and pursue happiness through travel.”
There’s that word again, value. Not in the transactional sense, but in the emotional one.
The Airport, Reimagined
Priority Pass, to its credit, appears to understand where this is heading.
Its network of more than 1,800 lounges and experiences worldwide has evolved well beyond the traditional. Today, travellers might find themselves in a spa, a sleep pod, or even a gaming lounge before boarding.
Add in services such as transfers, car hire, and wellness platforms like TrvlWell, and the journey begins to feel less like a process and more like a curated experience.
Which, when you think about it, is exactly what travellers have been asking for all along.
The Final Word
There’s something rather reassuring about all this.
After years of chasing efficiency, scale, and speed, travel seems to be rediscovering its soul. People are choosing experiences that matter. Brands are finally beginning to respond in kind.
The USD 3 trillion opportunity identified here isn’t just about revenue. It’s about relevance.
Because in the end, people don’t remember the transaction.
They remember how it felt.
And if this new era of sports and wellness travel delivers on that promise, then perhaps just perhaps we’re heading in the right direction after all.
by Octavia Koo – (c) 2026.
Read Time: 6 minutes.
About the Author.
Octavia Koo arrived in Australia in the early eighties with little fuss and a good eye. Sydney suited her. At UNSW, she studied Arts, then found her footing in graphic design before drifting, quite naturally, into the digital side of things, building websites and shaping words that made people want to stay.
Singapore followed, and with it, the fast pace of tourism platforms and ITB Asia. Long before SEO became a buzzword, Octavia understood how stories travelled online. That’s where she met Stephen, and the seed for something more was planted.
A few years later, she joined Global Travel Media.
Today, Octavia works with quiet assurance, blending art, instinct and experience to produce stories that don’t shout; they simply work and linger.
