Wellness Travel Trend: Pilgrimages and “Epic Walks” See Further Momentum ’
If you only got your wellness and wellness travel news from the media, you might think that *everything* now is about expensive, high-tech longevity and biohacking programming. In our 2024 trend report, we go deep into the unprecedented surge for that new “hardcare” in wellness. But we also explore how new desires for “softcare” are rising, with people seeking lower-pressure, simpler, cheaper, more profound, tech-free wellness experiences—where emotional, spiritual and social wellbeing matter most.
Our 2024 trend, “The Power of the Pilgrimage,” is a compelling expression of this rising hunger for simpler, deeper and more profound wellness in travel. Journalist Eric Wilson beautifully details how a record number of new and revitalized pilgrimage trails worldwide are luring new generations to the most ancient, slow, communal and spiritual form of travel. And the pilgrimage trend is only seeing momentum and new directions since January.
Record numbers of people are hitting the famous, ancient pilgrimage trails, whether the 9th-century Camino de Santiago in Spain (in 2023, a record half a million people walked it) or Japan’s 88-temple Shikoku Trail. But a wave of new walking/hiking trails globally are creating cultural, historical and nature “pilgrimages”—because what the majority of modern pilgrims now seek lies beyond religious devotion. Recent data about the Camino de Santiago revealed that only 40% of walkers hitting its trails were walking for purely religious reasons. Most modern pilgrims are seekers, but they’re seeking a blended form of wellness: challenging physical activity, finding inner peace, being immersed in nature and local culture, and spiritual and personal growth. The line between the pilgrimage and the “epic walk” is blurring. And more countries are creating new epic walks and pilgrimages to fight their serious overtourism crises.
New pilgrimage trails blend history, culture and spirituality, but in a non-denominational way. This year, Ireland and Wales will complete the Wexford-Pembrokeshire Pilgrim Way, a 100-mile trail starting in Wexford, Ireland and ending in St. David’s, Wales. This is the journey made by St. Aidan in the 6th century, except now there’s an Irish ferry crossing in between. This new “camino” is inspired by the ancient stories that link the two Celtic lands and involves cliff-top walks, hermit cells, Neolithic tombs, holy pools and isolated coves. In California, the Camino de Sonoma just opened, a 75-mile, newly-invented pilgrimage trail running from the mission in Sonoma to the Russian Orthodox chapel at Fort Ross. It’s designed as a “healing path,” embracing Catholic pilgrims but firmly non-denominational. More tour companies are creating new, guided historical pilgrimages, such as Macs Adventure’s 8-day route that “follows in the footsteps of the outlaw Rob Roy” through the Scottish Highlands, past ancient stone circles and Roman viaducts.
New trails are expressly designed to fight overtourism. We all read the headlines about the crush of overtourism this summer (from Barcelona to Kyoto), and how locals and governments are fighting back as never before. New pilgrimage/walking trails are being created globally to get people way off the beaten paths. Portugal just announced that it will create a circular 1,860-mile trail (the world’s longest) to send people beyond crowded Lisbon and the Algarve. This new “Palmilhar Portugal” project is part of the country’s rising focus on developing wellness tourism. The Via dell’Amore, the beloved cliffside “path of love” that links villages in the tourist-mobbed Cinque Terre region of Italy, has just reopened after a $24 million renovation, with the aim of reducing overtourism.
Wellness resorts embrace walking/hiking retreats: More wellness destinations—even the most exclusive—are centering programming around simple, communal walking and hiking. Malibu’s The Ranch, whose heartbeat is tough, communal long hikes in nature, recently expanded to New York’s Hudson Valley. Super-luxe wellness resort brand Sensei is rolling out hiking retreats (next at its Sensei Lānaʻi resort in Hawaii), five days of hiking on gorgeous trails and exploring Hawaiian history and culture.
The pilgrimage trend has serious legs. After recent years of turmoil, pandemic, and increasing division, people are reevaluating their lives. More people are questioning what true wellness is: reacting against extravagant wellness vacations and wellness influencer lifestyles on social media. They’re pursuing simplicity, humility and purpose in their journeys—three hallmarks of pilgrimages. We should never forget that, despite the new sea of diagnostic tests and futuristic recovery pods, emotional, social and spiritual wellbeing is the foundation of wellness. Wellness destinations/companies have rising opportunities in the pilgrimage and “epic hike” trends, by creating their own transformative “pilgrimage” experiences and by partnering with tour groups and trail developers to provide “wellness stops” and experiences for pilgrims on their journeys.
Discover the 10 Trends Shaking Up the Wellness Industry in 2024 Here
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