To file under Financial Sustainability, subheading “Potential New Income Streams”:
I just finished reading an article in Fast Company on the surge in “wellness tourism,” which is now a $563 billion global industry. Defined as “vacationing while enhancing or maintaining one’s well-being” (physical, mental or spiritual), wellness tourism is growing at twice the rate of tourism overall. Wellness travel agents (yes, that’s a profession) report that millennials are their best clients, followed closely by Gen Xers and retired baby boomers.
This seems like a great business opportunity for museums. Many museums cater to spiritual and mental wellness with meditation, mindfulness, even yoga classes in the galleries and on the grounds. And, as the article notes, “millennials crave genuine cultural experiences as part of their healthy vacations.”
The demand for planning assistance for such vacations is driving a resurgence in the use of travel agents and the creation of firms specializing in wellness retreats. Museums should get on the radar of these specialty agents, and of high-end hotel chains already catering to travelers seeking to detox and de-stress.
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| Meditation at the Rubin Museum |
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