In terms of reference markets, Spaniards (29%), Italians (26%) and Germans (24%) stand out as the main exponents in Europe. On the other hand, only 16% of British tourists consider the wellness offer to be an important component of a vacation.
Profile of the European wellness traveler
According to Travellyze data, 40% of European travelers looking for relaxing experiences or spas in Spain are between 35 and 54 years old. Wellness is no longer a thing of the rich and 28% of European travelers who expect to enjoy this type of services on their vacations earn between €18,000 and €36,000 a year and 36% spend less than €3,000 on their travel budget. Of these, 15% say they will spend more than in previous years.
As for the means of inspiration, European wellness tourists use metasearch engines such as Google or Bing (42%), consult travel, hotel or airline websites (35%) and read online reviews from other travelers on sites such as Tripadvisor (33%).
For this type of tourist, travel agency recommendations are of great importance (30%), which shows that agencies should pay attention to the available offers adapted to travelers seeking health and wellness experiences.
The main social networks of inspiration for this type of traveler are Instagram (31%), Facebook (27%) and YouTube (25%). There is a 31% increase over the last year in the impact of influencers or celebrities as a means of online inspiration.
40% of travelers seeking wellness experiences tend to stay in 3- or 4-star hotels or second homes (31.4%). However, demand for hotels with spa services has increased by 72% over the last year.
The main European outbound markets of travelers place Spain as the second country of reference in wellness tourism in the EU, behind Italy and ahead of Portugal and Germany.
Health and environmental care are priority factors
As Travellyze points out, factors such as cleanliness, health, hygiene, and safety at the destination have a major impact on the travel decision for 40% of European tourists.
The pandemic has changed the priorities of the traveller who places greater importance on health and safety in their travels. Easy access to hospitals and health facilities is another very important factor for more than 30% of European travellers.
The European tourist is more environmentally and sustainability conscious with 28% being concerned about environmental care and sustainability when selecting their vacation destination, accommodation and transportation with Germans, Italians and Spaniards being the most aware.