Why Brits are keen to go on wellness getaways for longevity in 2025
Planning your 2025 holidays already? New data from Booking.com reveals how Britons are planning to spend their holidays in the new year, with health and wellness at the front of mind for many.
The online travel agency surveyed more than 1,000 Britons - alongside over 27,000 respondents from all over the world - to come up with its travel predictions for 2025.
It found that nearly 50% of British respondents said they would pay for a holiday "that’s sole purpose was to extend their lifespan and wellbeing".
The popularity of "longevity retreats" is set to continue rising next year. It comes after hotels and spas began offering droves of new treatments, products and experiences that promote a longer and healthier life.
Why are Britons so keen on wellness-focused travel?
Explaining the trend to Yahoo UK, Arjan Dijk, senior vice president and CMO at Booking.com says that Britons’ preference to incorporate wellness into travel "is being driven by a desire to cultivate a more health-conscious lifestyle".
He adds that demand for better work-life balance, trips to prevent burnout, and a shift towards experimental travel, such as holistic health getaways and retreats, are also fuelling this trend.
The main factor that Brits are looking for when they are choosing to go on a wellness-focused trip is "deep revitalisation", Dijk says.
"Booking.com’s research has revealed that this could take the form of body vibration (49%) and red light therapies (47%) to cryotherapy (35%) or stem cell treatment (32%)," he explains.
"Also, over half (52%) of Brits are looking for new wellness activities they can mix into their daily lives as they reconnect with a more balanced version of themselves. This could be anything from learning about timed coffee ingestion (27%) and IV therapy (26%)."
Who is going on ‘longevity retreats’?
Longevity is typically thought of as a subject that people in middle age and beyond are most interested in - but data from Booking.com shows that younger generations are starting to show more interest in extending their lifespans.
It found that the age groups most likely to be interested in trips that benefit overall wellbeing are actually Millennials (62%) and Gen Z (61%).
Gen X, who are born between the mid-1960s and late 1970s, also showed interest in wellness getaways, but to a lesser extent (42%) compared to their younger counterparts.
"These wellness programmes have a distinct focus on slowing down the ageing process, which again demonstrates that travellers are in pursuit of a longer, healthier life," Dijk says.
He adds that the data also showed that men were more likely to be interested in their wellbeing and extending lifespan qualities as a holiday focus (52%), while women were slightly less so (45%).
In addition, travel trends among men are showing signs of shifting towards trips that are more focused on rest and mental health.
"Male travellers are moving away from ‘lad culture’ cliches, and instead looking to switch off from the stresses of everyday life (26%), rest and rejuvenate (26%), and pursue mental health benefits (21%) when travelling," Dijk explains.
"This trend is popular across all generations however, with almost one in five boomers refusing to let age keep them from chasing down new adventures. It’s all about breaking travel norms to foster a deeper sense of connection."
Booking.com’s top 10 trending destinations 2025
If you’re looking for holiday inspiration, here are Booking.com’s top trending destinations you should take note of for next year:
João Pessoa, Brazil
Tromsø, Norway
Sanya, China
Trieste, Italy
San Pedro de Atacama, Chile
Houston, United States
Naha, Okinawa, Japan
Villajoyosa, Spain
Tignes, France
Willemstad, Curaçao
Read more about wellness:
Do mushroom supplements have real wellness benefits? (Yahoo Life UK, 5-min read)
I quit a £144k job to open a country retreat and I’ve never been happier (Yahoo Life UK, 9-min read)
Never been on a retreat? It might be more down-to-earth than you think (EuroNews, 6-min read)
