Wellness & adventure
SELLING WELLNESS TRIPS By opening up active breaks to a broader audience, the intersection of adventure and wellness is a rich seam for agents to target. So how should they go about selling the ‘Zenventure’? It’s worth thinking broadly and holistically about what falls under the ‘wellness’ umbrella. With so many different strands – mental, emotional, physical, spiritual and social – there is a trip available to suit the tastes of every traveller. “It doesn’t have to just mean retreats and detox boot camps,” says Intrepid Travel’s Reeve. “It can also mean learning and transforming yourself through experience, such as walking up a mountain in Morocco or nourishing your body with delicious food in Thailand.” And weaving wellness experiences
into itineraries isn’t just about pampering and self-care – it can also be a portal into indigenous culture or belief systems. G Adventures’ Wellness India, for example, features a stay at an ashram in Rishikesh, which
travelweekly.co.uk
Ask what level of activity clients are interested in and then recommend trips that are based on their adventure comfort level
is known as the yoga capital of the world and widely considered to be the birthplace of the practice.
THE RIGHT BALANCE It’s important to clarify what your clients’ goals are. Whether they’re more into running an ultramarathon through Bhutan or cycling Japan’s Kumano Kodo at a leisurely pace, you should take the time to gauge each customer’s preferred ratio of R&R to adventure. “Ask what level of activity they are interested in and recommend trips that are based on their adventure comfort level,” says Alicia Kjeldgaard,
guest service and travel advisor manager at Backroads. For those who prefer to dip their
toe in first, this type of activity can be offered as an adventurous trip extension. Bite-sized, bolt-on itineraries offer a taste of the action before clients decide whether a dedicated holiday is for them. Several of Abercrombie & Kent’s Travel Edits fit the bill here, including the Sri Lanka Hill Country Adventure, a river-rafting and cycling expedition, and the Adventure in Quito volcano hike. Both last just two days. Lastly, agents can highlight the longer-term benefits. One of the great draws of wellness and adventure travel – as opposed to, say, a fly-and- flop holiday – is the potential for a long-lasting, positive impact on both mind and body. As Run Wild Retreats’ Fish points
out: “Clients can continue using the mindfulness techniques we teach long after they return home, not only to run better but to help manage their stress. This delivers a higher perceived value beyond the cost of just the trip itself.”
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PICTURES: G ADVENTURES; MAS PELEGRI; BACKROADS/ANDREW OPILA
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