There was a time when travel meant having to forget about your health and wellness, but those days are behind us! I recently had the opportunity to speak with travel and wellness expert Kaila Yu from nylonpink.tv and fromhelltowellness.com and we chatted about travel wellness trends for 2020.
Kaila has an Instagram feed that any travel lover will drool over, including shots from her recent trip to Croatia where she was able to get some epic photos of scenes straight out of Game of Thrones…
These are the stairs where Cerci Lannister began her walk of shame, and in the episode, Kaila shares with us one of her tips for getting shots like this without a sea of people in the background.
Seriously though, how amazing are these photos!?
I was absolutely delighted to have the chance to talk to her so let’s get to this week’s episode!
Travel Wellness Trends for 2020 with Kaila Yu
Wellness travel is something that has really started to pick up over the past few years. People are looking for more out of their travel beyond just seeing a new country or city. We want to come away feeling enriched and having learned something new, so this episode comes at a perfect time as many of us are starting to think about our travel plans for the year and what they might include.
Genetic Travel
With the popularity of ancestry and genetic testing, there has already been a trend for people to find out more about their heritage and visiting those countries, but genetic travel takes it one step further. Hotels offer a program with genetic testing so they can custom tailor your visit specific to you.
Want to learn more about this trend? Check out Body Holiday in St Lucia
Sleep Travel
In Thailand, Kaila stayed at a couple of hotels that offered a pillow menu where you can choose the pillow that best suits your needs. There are also hotels who are beginning to offer a full sleep program that finishes off with you getting a massage in bed before going to sleep. What could be more amazing than that? Sign me up!
Digital Detox
A lot of hotels are offering a getaway from your digital life where you can check your phone and computer upon arrival, there is no WIFI and we can all just connect IRL. You can often choose how long you detox (one day or your whole stay), and these retreats allow you to connect with like-minded people and get back in the real world.
Chemical-Free Holidays
Hotels are encouraging you to reuse your towels during your stay, some are even starting to offer a reusable water bottle for you to use during your stay.
Many are getting rid of chemicals in their housekeeping, the products they offer, and even in their kitchens.
The Body Holiday has a fun program where you can go into their garden and choose your vegetables, help the chef in the kitchen if you like and then enjoy the meal in the dining area.
Over Tourism
We are looking more and more for new “undiscovered” locations to visit. Travelling an hour or two outside of Venice instead of staying right in the city. Or travelling to those “hot” areas during the off-season when there are much fewer people and you can get more done in a shorter period of time.
Sobriety
Among millennials especially, there is a sober movement where they are actively seeking sober travel. Thailand is great for sober travel as they offer lots of non-alcoholic cocktails and drinks in bars so you can still enjoy a beautiful drink without alcohol. There are even websites dedicated solely to sober vacation like https://www.sobercelebrations.com/ that you can check out.
Kaila’s top destination recommendations:
- Dubrovnik, Crotia – visit during the off-season
- Tai Pei – awesome for street food
- Japan – one of her favourite locations but they also have lots of different animal cafes <– which means I need to plan a trip there like STAT
Kaila’s top travel tips
- Plan a lot, but then be easy going, because Murphy’s Law always applies to travel.
- Travel Pirates offers vacation packages that take the guesswork out of vacation planning.
Be sure to check out Kaila’s podcast at www.fromhelltowellness.com and to follow her on Instagram @kailayu.
Do you have any trips planned for 2020? Which of these trends would you be most interested in trying out?