Vacation or therapy? Demographics, motivations, and experiences of wellness retreat guests around the world

Summary & key facts

Researchers ran an anonymous online survey of people who had stayed at residential wellness retreats in the past year. About 2,700 people finished the eligibility part of the survey. Most went to relax, take a holiday, improve general health, learn ways to cope, and reduce stress. Many guests said they felt happier and healthier after their stay, and people with long-term problems like chronic pain often reported relief. The authors say retreats seem helpful, but we do not yet know how long the benefits last or which specific programs work best.

Key facts:

• About 3,700 people started the survey, and about 2,700 were eligible to take part because they had attended a residential retreat in the past 12 months.
• Around 60% of the people who answered were women, and the average age was about 58 years.
• The main reasons people attended retreats were to relax and take a holiday, to improve general health, to learn coping skills, and to reduce stress and improve mental health.
• Most retreat guests reported feeling better and happier after their retreat experience.
• About 4 in 10 guests had at least one medical condition. The most commonly reported problems included back pain, arthritis, high blood pressure, being overweight, fatigue, stress, and chronic pain.
• Most guests reported that their health improved after the retreat, and many reported relief from chronic health problems.
• The study authors say more and better research is needed. They recommend longer studies and studies that compare people who go to retreats with similar people who do not, to know how long benefits last and who benefits most.

Abstract

Background: Wellness retreats are a global phenomenon [Patterson & Balderas-Cejudo (2016. Identification of altered metabolomic profiles following a panchakarma-based ayurvedic intervention in healthy subjects: The self-directed biological transformation initiative (SBTI). Scientific Reports, 6(1), 32609. https://doi.org/10.1038/srep32609)] and growing segment of the $563USD billion wellness tourism industry [GWI (2021 GWI. (2021). The global wellness economy: Looking beyond COVID. [Google Scholar]. The global wellness economy: Looking beyond COVID)]. Yet, despite retreats being promoted as transformational experiences to promote lifestyle change and wellbeing, only a small number of published studies have scientifically explored health outcomes. Our previously published systematic review includes 23 studies on the health impact of retreats until February 2017 [Naidoo et al. (2018 Naidoo, D., Schembri, A., & Cohen, M. (2018). The health impact of residential retreats: A systematic review. BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine, 18(1), 8. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12906-017-2078-4[Crossref], [PubMed] , [Google Scholar]. The health impact of residential retreats: A systematic review. BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine, 18(1), 8. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12906-017-2078-4)] and found no previous research has investigated the main drivers of attendance. This study aims to explore the demographics, motivations and experiences of retreat guests in different locations around the world. Methods: The global retreat study was an anonymous online survey available in nine languages (English, Portuguese, Chinese, Japanese, German, Russian, Hungarian, Slovak and Czech). Participants were eligible to participate if they had attended one or more residential retreats within the previous 12 months. Results: 3708 respondents started the survey, of which 71.7% (n = 2661) were eligible. Most respondents 60% (n = 1299) were female and the mean age was 58y/o (SD = 21, n = 2182). The most important factors for attendance were relaxation and holiday, to improve general health and learn coping mechanisms, and to reduce stress and improve mental health. The majority of retreat guests reported feeling better and happier after their retreat experience. A total of 41.0% had one or more medical conditions with the most common being back pain, arthritis, high blood pressure, overweight, fatigue, stress and chronic pain. Most guests reported improvement in their health after their retreat experience. Conclusions: People attend retreats to relax and regain wellbeing and retreat experiences appear to improve overall health and provide relief from chronic diseases. Further research including longitudinal and randomised controlled studies is required to determine the extent and longevity of wellbeing benefits and the populations most likely to benefit from specific programs.

Topics

Global Healthcare and Medical Tourism High Altitude and Hypoxia Travel-related health issues

Categories

General Health Professions Health Professions Health Sciences

Tags

Archaeology Attendance Demographics Demography Family medicine Geography German Global health Law Medical education Medicine Nursing Political science Psychology Public health Sociology

Conditions & symptoms

Chronic Pain Anxiety or worry Chronic pain Lack of energy or motivation Sadness or low mood