Rachael Davies is a journalist based in Edinburgh, United Kingdom.
As of 2019, the wellness tourism industry was
worth an enormous $639 billion (€528 billion), with retreats and mindfulness holidays attracting more and more people looking for a mental reboot as well as a getaway.
Like so much else in the travel industry, that came to a screeching halt at the beginning of 2020, when the pandemic grounded international travel for most of the year.
At a time when people needed a mental health holiday more than ever, wellness retreats were no longer possible - so an alternative emerged. Many health tourism companies put together virtual retreats, held over video calls, featuring the same activities as you might expect from a physical retreat.