Spa Travel Bookings through Agents on the Rise, Survey Says

More people are booking spa travel through travel agents, according to the annual SpaFinder Wellness survey of global travel agents on the health of bookings to hotel, resort and destination spas.

Spa travel was significantly higher in 2012 than in 2011, while the average spa vacation price per night rose significantly. Mexico and the Caribbean overtook North America as the top spa travel destination.

The sixth annual “State of Spa Travel” report showed that in 2012 bookings to hotel, resort and destination spas turned “a meaningful corner,” with more than two-thirds of travel agents seeing positive booking growth, and the average price-per-night booked rising significantly.

Findings are based on an in-depth survey of more than 160 travel agents around the world, completed in the fourth quarter of 2012. Sixty-five percent of agents reported that more people booked spa travel through agents in 2012, with 28 percent reporting that levels remained the same as 2011.  Only 6 percent reported a decline.

While 37 percent of travel agents reported that spa travel bookings increased in 2011 over 2010, that number roughly doubled for 2012. Sixty-eight percent reported growth in the number of clients choosing spa travel last year, with only 9 percent reporting declines.

The survey also indicated that the high end of the market is clearly spurring spa travel growth, with the average price-per-night-booked in 2012 rising dramatically over recent years.

In 2010 only 10 percent of bookings topped $350 per night, but last year that jumped to 29 percent. And the majority of bookings now fall above $300 per night, up significantly from 2009-2011, when only 25 percent to 40 percent fell in that range.

Despite the improving economy, agents reported that spa deals are not drying up. Thirty-five percent said that “stay spa” deals were actually more aggressive in 2012 than in 2011, with 55 percent reporting they held firm. (Only one in ten agents saw a decline in spa discounting.)

The agents surveyed reported that the Mexico/Caribbean region was the number one global spa travel destination in 2012, leapfrogging the 2010 and 2011 leader, North America. Agents also reported that Hawaii was the U.S. region attracting the most spa travelers in 2012.

The health-obsessed baby boomer generation (people aged 48-67) remains the spa travel sector’s core demographic, with 67 percent of agents reporting that boomers were the demographic group most likely to book spa travel in 2012.

But a significant 31 percent of agents pegged the younger, 26-45 age group as now most likely to book spa vacations. (This age breakdown is essentially the same as reported for 2011.)

Source: Travel Market Report