Longevity tourism boom is the new frontier for luxury travel

That’s just a small part of what’s going on with Storylines’ wellness cruises, all in the name of longevity tourism, a fast-growing segment of the $5.6 trillion wellness industry.

This new twist on travel is born out of “a strong sense of doubt about a century-old vacation model: excess, where people eat too much, drink too much and sleep too little in crowded tourist destinations,” says Beth McGroarty, the nonprofit’s vice president of research. Global Wellness Institute,tell luck. “It was a cliché because it was true: “People will come back feeling worse than when they left.”

Storylines calls itself “Ocean Blue Zones,” and it taps into consumers’ desire to travel not for mindless indulgence, but to become healthier and live longer (maybe even to 100 years old).

“Global travelers understand that to travel and enjoy the world, they need a certain level of health and fitness,” says Storylines CEO Alistair Panton. “They want to walk the cobblestone streets of European cities, hike the Inca trails, and snorkel in the Red Sea. So it’s no surprise that longevity, health, and tourism go hand in hand.”

Also on board is an Optimization Center with yoga classes, meditation sessions, a 10,000-square-foot gym complete with personal trainers, a smoothie bar, bioidentical hormone replacement therapy, treatments to boost energy and libido, and the aforementioned drip station, where you can get everything from vitamins to chelation therapy, which removes heavy metals like lead from the bloodstream. (It’s important to note that some of the longevity treatments available on the trip, such as stem cell therapy and hyperbaric oxygen chambers, have not been extensively tested or approved by the FDA in the general healthy population.)

So, does that mean all-you-can-eat buffets and poolside piña coladas are gone when it comes to travel?

That’s not true for everyone, but it certainly is for some. According to the Global Wellness Institute, which began researching wellness tourism 15 years ago as smartphone use began to grow, the number of people taking wellness trips is expected to grow 30% between 2020 and 2022, and the wellness tourism industry is expected to hit $1 trillion by the end of 2024. McGroarty doesn’t think that’s a coincidence.

“People are feeling more stressed, depressed and unwell than ever before and are looking for travel experiences that will help them relax,” she says.

Now, such travel is inextricably linked to the rapidly expanding $27 billion longevity market, which is one of the fastest-growing wellness verticals, according to the Global Wellness Institute’s annual report. Itineraries on cruises as well as luxury resorts and villas promise oases where wellness spas meet biohackers.

it is EstateA joint venture between SBE Entertainment Group Chairman Sam Nazarian and personal development guru Tony Robbins, it is described as “a revolutionary luxury hospitality and residential ecosystem grounded in the world of preventive medicine, AI and longevity,” and plans to open 15 hotels and 10 longevity centers by 2030. Fountain LifeThe on-site resort will have a preventive medicine clinic and anti-aging spa adjacent to its five-star restaurants and suites, with rates starting from $1,000 per night. Bloomberg.

“We’re not building a medical hotel, we’re building luxury hotels, housing and urban clinics that are differentiated by their commitment to changing people’s lives,” Nazarian said. Press Release.

in Six Senses IbizaMeanwhile, the guests Rose BarDon’t mistake this for a place for late-night dirty martinis: this is a longevity club that tests visitors’ biomarkers and offers personalized lifestyle, nutrition and exercise advice from an array of health coaches. It also features cold baths, hyperbaric oxygen chambers, infrared saunas and IV stations.

“You don’t have to commit to a full retreat, just pop in for a 30-minute red light session, cryotherapy, or a restorative infusion to soothe your travel fatigue,” says Tarana Vestal, founding member of Rose Bar. “It’s all about giving your body the power to choose exactly what it needs, when it needs it.”

Six Senses Ibiza Rose Bar

The bar pays tribute to the overall measure of health,Combining the power of science and mental health to extend human health and longevity“The secret to longevity is the resort chain’s Chief Wellness Officer, Dr. Mark Hyman, a functional medicine physician and renowned longevity enthusiast. The program also includes an in-depth look at Dr. Hyman’s ‘Young Forever’ program, a six-day detox that helps participants rethink aging, reduce stress and learn how to flip their ‘longevity switch.'”

Six Senses Ibiza Rose Bar

Below are some examples of other luxury wellness resorts and their luxury services:

4 Course IV

in Four Seasons Resort MauiGuests can indulge in a range of longevity-focused services that are more intense and invasive than the massages, gyms and facials that typically accompany luxury travel.

For example, $44,000 gets you four courses of ozone, stem cell, exosome, and NAD+ therapy in partnership with longevity center Next|Health, while for the bargain price of $299 you can also get a 30-minute detoxification treatment called the Hangover IV and an inflammation-reducing Gut Health IV.

200 biomarker data

OG Wellness Resort & Spa Canyon Ranch Recently released Longevity 8The four-day, $20,000 retreat in Tucson, Arizona, begins with blood draws and a personalized doctor’s consultation, followed by a sleep screening and endurance evaluation.

They assess over 200 biomarkers and develop a plan of action in the hopes that guests will return feeling rejuvenated.

“With healthcare institutions still not focusing on prevention, the affluent are seeking new concierge medical wellness facilities and programs to help them take control of their health before it becomes a problem,” McGroarty says.

Now, let me introduce you to Choju School.

Some people, particularly investors and venture capitalists, are keen to incorporate longevity education into travel. Longevity entrepreneur Peter Diamandis is running a $70,000, five-day “Platinum Longevity TravelIn his program, called “Five Days, Five Stars, Deep Dive into Longevity,” participants learn the fundamentals of optimizing sleep, nutrition, and exercise, while also being introduced to innovative treatments and biohacks from researchers. He calls it a “five-day, five-star, deep dive into longevity.”

Diamandis has been hosting retreats for venture capitalists and entrepreneurs for more than a decade, but he says his longevity-focused itinerary, now in its sixth year, has only recently begun to gain popularity. “People are coming here because they want to solve health issues for their family,” he says. luck“We customize everyone’s trip, which means interviewing all our members in advance to find out what they want. We’ve seen a growing demand and interest in this.”

Abundance Platinum

Diamandis hypothesizes that the surge in longevity tourism is due to a wave of rapid innovation he’s calling the “healthspan renaissance,” in which research shows that individuals have the power to improve their own health. As a result, wealthy entrepreneurs are eager to tap cutting-edge technologies that use data to improve lifestyle and health outcomes.

And with aging in poor health now considered inevitable, at least for those fortunate enough to be, more and more people are looking at vacations as an opportunity to enhance their lifestyle choices. Whether it’s a pre-dinner IV drip or Botox on a boat, people are redefining what it means to travel, making it all the more special.

“I call this new hyper-medical, high-tech, more expensive wellness market the new ‘hard care’ wellness,” McGroarty says. “Medical longevity programs are popping up in unexpected places.”