Spa travel continued apace in North America during 2013, with the momentum partly-fuelled by resorts’ increasingly aggressive price packages, according to Spafinder Wellness 365’s ‘State of Spa Travel’ report published today.

The wellness industry company – which covers media, marketing and gifting offerings – based the report on a survey of over 300 North American travel agents completed in the fourth quarter of 2013.

The continued rise of the global wellness tourism market – estimated to be worth $439bn – also features prominently in the report, with the majority of travel agents believing the trend remains on an upward trajectory.

“This new data provides fresh evidence that what we’ve been hearing about the growth of the wider wellness tourism category is undeniably true,” says Mia Kyricos, Spafinder Wellness, Inc.’s chief brand officer.

“It also proves that spa travel is on the rise in North America, which is the now the world’s largest wellness travel market, generating over 40% of the total dollars spent in that global segment.”

The previous ‘State of Spa Travel’ report found that 2012 was the year spa travel finally rebounded after the long recession, with 68 per cent of travel agents reporting growth in spa bookings, up from 37 per cent in 2011. This resurgence strengthened again in 2013, with 73 per cent of US and Canadian agents experiencing growth, while a further 23 per cent said booking levels had stayed the same.

And despite the brighter outlook, the ubiquity of spa package deals showed no sign of relenting, suggesting operators are focusing on volume – to the delight of consumers.

The report found that 32 per cent of agents thought global resort/destination spas pushed more special price offers in 2013, while 52 per cent perceived no change and only 15 per cent observed a decline.

Other trends picked out in the report include the prediction that ‘Generation X’ will soon usurp the ageing baby boomer generation as the main spa travelling demographic.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, given the industry’s sustained growth, travel agents also perceive an expansion of the global spa travel map, with far-flung locations like Croatia, Chile, the Seychelles and Myanmar picked out as increasingly popular locations among American consumers.

The survey defined spa travel as “all bookings for travel/vacations/packages with a strong spa component” and as such, recognition of the global wellness tourism market’s ascent should also come as no surprise. Comprising of spa tourism, adventure/nature travel, fitness-focused travel, yoga and lifestyle retreats, plus eco-tourism, the all-encompassing wellness tourism market is perceived as a distinctly rising travel trend by 75 per cent of North American agents, with another 22 per cent believing its popularity was maintained in 2013.

Follow the links below for news on Spafinder:

Spafinder to launch wellness tourism programme at World Travel Market 2014

Spafinder Wellness 365 releases 2014 trends report