Sarah Mourtos With consumers homebound and experiencing a pull towards nature, could this be the perfect equation for local wellness tourism?
It’s pretty hard to plan a holiday these days. Interstate trips are unpredictable and global travel is on an extended pause. The staycation is having a revival, but when your backyard is Australia, that isn’t a bad compromise.
We are in no short supply of beautiful experiences, with the latest being glamorous camping or ‘glamping’. Award-winning wellness destination Peninsula Hot Springs in Victoria recently added glamping to its list of attractions. Guests stay in premium glamping tents with all the creature comforts. Each of the ten tents available on-site include a private ensuite, walk-in wardrobe and thermally heated concrete floors. A continental breakfast is also delivered right to your door. This is no definition of ‘roughing it’. When paired with a dip in the thermal hot springs and a relaxing spa treatment, it is quite the opposite.
So what’s the appeal of glamping? Singapore Changi Airport made headlines when it announced that it would offer glamping in its retail wing. In what might go down as the most unusual holiday in history, guests pay $269 per night to wake up to the sound of the world’s tallest indoor waterfall and receive exclusive shopping discounts. The experience sold out. There are several more traditional clamping site cropping up around Australia and the world.
The rise of glamping could be the by-product of the growing need to reconnect with nature. Media experts at the Global Wellness Summit 2020 predicted that after the era of lockdown and social distancing, 2021 would see profound value placed on nature and wilderness as healing tools.
Travel columnist for The New York Times and panellist, Elaine Glusas said, “sadly, in travel, we’ve temporarily lost connection to other people (one of travel’s wonders), and that people connection is being replaced with nature connection, which provides unique healing and solace in a pandemic.”
Glamping guests of the Peninsula Hot Springs have access to nature experiences usually not afforded to the regular day-tripper. This includes ‘moonlit bathing’ where they can bathe overnight under the stars in the geothermal pools. As we start to curate our wellness wish list for 2021, we know what will take out the number one spot.
Are you a wellness destination? How do you feel about the rise of glamping? Let us know in the comments below.
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