Wellness has become one of the most powerful economic and cultural forces shaping how—and why—people travel. According to the 2025 Global Wellness Economy Monitor, the global wellness economy has doubled in size since 2013, reaching USD $6.8 trillion in 2024, with every sector now fully recovered from the pandemic and many significantly surpassing pre-2020 levels. Growth shows no sign of slowing. Over the next five years, the wellness economy is expected to expand by 7.6 percent annually, reaching an estimated USD $9.8 trillion by 2029.
Wellness travel in 2026 is less about escape and more about alignment—with the body, with relationships, with rhythm, and with a slower, more considered way of living. The following wellness trends capture how the world’s most thoughtful retreats are shaping that future.
Wellness, Rewritten for the Family Unit
One of the most notable wellness trends is the rise of family-inclusive retreats, according to Conde Nast Traveller. Multigenerational travel already accounts for a large portion of luxury trips, and wellness brands are responding not by diluting adult-focused programming but by crafting experiences that genuinely include all ages.
At Six Senses Ninh Van Bay, wellbeing is embedded into the daily rhythm of the resort, allowing siblings and parents alike to move through yoga, nature immersion, and mindful rituals together without the experience feeling diluted. JOALI Being in the Maldives and Zulal Wellness Resort in Qatar approaches family wellness through intentional education, introducing younger guests to mindfulness and movement that feel organic rather than instructional. Even urban sanctuaries like Island Shangri-La Hong Kong are reimagining how wellness functions within a family context, offering structured calm amid city energy.
See also: 5 Key Takeaways From The Global Wellness Economy Monitor 2025
Looking Up: Star Bathing and the Re-enchantment of Nature
Nature-based wellness is not new, but its expression continues to evolve. Condé Nast Traveler identifies star bathing—the practice of immersing oneself in the night sky as a form of contemplative rest—as one of the most compelling experiential shifts shaping wellness travel in 2026. This practice appeals to luxury travellers who seek not only scenery but perspective, grounding and meaningful presence under an unpolluted sky. In remote island and desert locations, evening programming increasingly invites guests to engage with darkness itself as a restorative resource—a counterpoint to a lifetime spent under artificial light.
When the Brain Becomes the Body’s Partner in Wellness
Another shift evident in Condé Nast Traveler’s reporting is the rise of neuro wellness—experiences that treat cognitive resilience as seriously as physical recovery. Interest in brain health, memory, emotional regulation and mental clarity is growing among travellers, especially those in their forties and beyond.
Rather than clinical diagnostics, the most sophisticated retreats integrate cognitive exercises, guided learning, movement, and sensory rest into a cohesive journey. This wellness trend represents a deeper understanding of wellbeing as something that evolves across organs and life stages.
Social Wellness After Solitude
The pandemic fundamentally altered how people relate to one another, and its effects continue to shape travel choices. There’s a growing emphasis on social wellness—meaningful human connection woven into the retreat experience. Group wellness retreats now make up a notable portion of bookings in the luxury category, responding to a desire for shared ritual, community dinners, collective breathwork, and creative collaboration.
See also: 9 New Luxury Hotels & Wellness Sanctuaries Opening In 2026
Hormone Health, Addressed With Sophistication
One of the more understated transformations in wellness travel is the increasing integration of hormone health into high-end retreat programmes. Rather than isolated “menopause retreats,” luxury properties are making endocrine balance an inherent part of their wellness curricula—from specialised nutrition and restorative movement to sleep design and stress regulation.
Ritual as a Marker of Time and Meaning
Ritual is experiencing a renaissance within luxury wellness. Full moon ceremonies, intention-setting gatherings, sound healing with singing bowls and other collective rites have moved from fringe practices into central elements of many retreats. These moments are less about spectacle and more about anchoring the traveller in presence and pace, imbuing time with intentionality that daily life so rarely offers.
Glow as Wellness, Not Vanity
Beauty as wellness has grown beyond superficial spa indulgences. Today’s glowcation—an aesthetic-forward term for retreats focused on skin health—reflects a nuanced view of beauty as an outward expression of internal balance. Luxury retreats combine advanced skin therapies, light-based modalities, guided nutritional strategies, and sleep optimisation into coherent programmes that help skin reflect overall wellbeing.
See also: The Most Beautiful Designer Spas Around The World
Quiet as the Ultimate Luxury
This is also referred to as hushpitality. In an age where noise—digital, environmental, psychological—is omnipresent, silence has become a rare and valued currency. Retreats now invest in architectural acoustics, intentional sound-free zones, and curated silence practices that go beyond a sign on a door.
