Research Practitioner Man Crossing Street Analytics Pink Hero

Most UK travellers now say they want their holidays to slow them down, or so one uncredited industry claim insists

An unattributed industry claim doing the rounds in 2025 reckons 78% of UK travellers now put wellness first when booking a holiday, and 59% just want to slow down. This includes practices like yours, if you run anything resembling a retreat or wellness centre.

Page updated: 14 Aug 2026

Whole-practice growth for wellness practices. Rooted in Wiltshire, UK, working worldwide.

Retreats and centres built around rest and restoration are, allegedly, exactly what UK holidaymakers are after, though nobody has said who measured the wanting.

Original Research	A claim that most UK travellers now rank wellness as their top holiday priority, with over half wanting a slower pace
Source	https://www.jejunemagazine.com/home/the-rise-of-wellness-travel-in-2026-and-why-it-is-growing-fast
Overview	A travel trends piece on Jejune Magazine repeats a headline wellness-travel statistic without naming who produced it or how.
Year	2025 (as stated in the original claim, unverified)
Publisher	Media, Jejune Magazine (the underlying data has no named publisher)
Relevance to Wellbeing	Directly speaks to demand for the slow, restorative offer that retreats and wellness centres already provide, if the figures can be trusted.
Our Verdict	Too early to tell No survey, no publisher, no method, just a number someone typed with confidence.
Our Summary	The described appetite for slowness and rest matches what centres and retreats already sell. The stat has no named source, no sample size, and no visible methodology. Even unverified, it echoes wider, better-sourced wellness travel trends. Repeating it as fact in your own marketing is risky if anyone asks for a link.
Our Geo View	Applies to UK travellers only; the claim says nothing about other markets.

Abstract of wellbeing niches and revenue flow

Recognise how this might impact your practice

Why this might matter to you

Coaching: this matters because a client booking a holiday to "switch off" is half persuaded already that slowing down is worth paying for.
Therapy: this matters because a client primed to expect rest on holiday might turn up to your practice already speaking your language.
Training: this matters because even fitness-minded travellers are apparently choosing recovery over another packed itinerary.
Alternative Healing: this matters because "wellness travel" is exactly the phrase healers get lumped in with, whether asked or not.
Clinical: this matters because patients who arrive relaxed rather than frazzled make for a calmer waiting room.
Retreat/Centre: this matters because, of all six, this is the practice type the claim is actually about.

Where this came from

A travel magazine piece about 2026 wellness holidays repeats a striking figure on UK traveller attitudes, but never says where the figure came from.

Jejune Magazine, publish date not given. The stat is described only as "research from 2025", with no report, survey, or organisation named, so it counts as unattributed at best.

Credibility flags: no methodology disclosed, sample size not disclosed, publisher type unclear, and the original research, if it exists, is not named or linked.

Practice fit: 50/100 · Recency: 70/100 · Method confidence: 0/100

Marked down heavily on how solid the method is, since there isn't one to inspect, given a middling score on recency because the claimed year is recent but unconfirmed, and scored only moderately on practice fit because wellness travel sits alongside, rather than inside, the six core practice types.

It's worth considering changes to your marketing practices

What this means for your marketing

Talk about slowness and rest in your own words, don't lean on someone else's uncredited number.
Put a genuine guest testimonial about slowing down on your booking page instead of a stat nobody can source.
Brief your team not to quote the 78% figure to clients or press, it won't survive a follow-up question.
Say plainly what "wellness travel" means at your practice before a guest arrives expecting something vaguer.
Keep an eye out for a properly sourced version of this claim and swap it in when one turns up.

Who this is most useful for

Practice type	Relevance	Recommended action
Coaching	Low	Mention slower-paced retreats as an option, lightly.
Therapy	Low	Note the trend in passing, don't build a campaign on it.
Training	Low	Skip it unless you run activity retreats abroad.
Alternative Healing	Medium	Use the general sentiment, not the specific number.
Clinical	Low	Not directly relevant, leave it be.
Retreat/Centre	High	Lead with the slow-travel angle, but source your own proof points.

Best before

Best before: Revisit this the moment a properly credited version of the 2025 UK travel research surfaces, and check back with Sunlight Creations before then if you want it stress-tested.

Curiosity Got You This Far.

A good sign. Curious practitioners tend to love the discovery call - where our visual river, story garden and listening wind make beautiful sense, and your ambitions get the attention they're owed. Coffee while we talk. Oat milk?

Find your Sunlight ▶