The Rise of Fitness Tourism: A Growing Trend 

Fitness tourism is a term for planned vacations centered around a destination that offers a combination of facilities, features, and/or instruction to enhance one’s health and well-being. The concept has grown in popularity, and the global market for fitness tourism is projected to increase from its 2022 values by 2028.

Fitness tourism is a broad umbrella term. Any destination that offers travelers an opportunity to practice healthy habits, such as exercise, outdoor activities, meditation, and self-care, can qualify. Let’s look at a few examples.

Popular Fitness Tourism Destinations

Yoga Retreats in Bali and India 

Mind-body exercise practices, such as Qigong, Tai Chi, Pilates, and Yoga, are well-suited for fitness tourism retreats. Yoga is an incredibly popular discipline worldwide, and its practice is linked to many health benefits. Over 5,000 years ago, the practice of yoga emerged in Northern India. A trip to the scenic destinations from which this practice emerged, combined with expert instruction and first-class amenities, can powerfully enhance your Yoga experience. 

Links to yoga retreats:

Bali

India

Surf Camps in Costa Rica and Australia

There is good evidence that outdoor water environments, also known as “blue spaces,” have a beneficial effect on health, especially mental health.  Surfing is a great way to combine physical activity with immersion in blue space.  

Links to surfing camps:

Costa Rica

Australia

Hiking and Trekking Adventures in the Alps and Himalayas

Hiking and cycling are great exercises. Like surfing, they combine the benefits of physical activity with the mental health benefits of exposure to green spaces, which research has found to be equally beneficial to the mind.

Links to Hiking/Trekking destinations:

Alps

Himalayas

Saunas

Not into surfing or hiking? No problem! How about relaxing in a sauna instead? I have previously written about the health benefits of using saunas. The practice of sauna-bathing has been found to improve cardiovascular health.

Here is a link to explore sauna tourism in Finland

Maximizing Your Fitness Retreat Experience

Setting Realistic Goals

For the best fitness tourism experience, perform an honest self-assessment as you plan your adventure. Having a sense of competence in whatever activity you are touring, whether it is yoga or surfing, is a sensible idea. I would recommend fitness tourism for practitioners of any discipline at an intermediate level and beyond. Tourism destinations can greatly enhance your skill and love for a discipline in which you have already developed some proficiency. Flying across the world to try something completely new sounds adventurous, but might be foolhardy. Can you imagine how horrible it would be to fly to Finland and only then discover you find saunas unbearable? Or to plan a week of hiking the Himalayas when you have developed blisters after the first day?

Balancing Exercise and Relaxation

The best fitness tourism strikes an ideal balance between engaging in activities you enjoy in a beautiful setting and allowing for adequate downtime to eat, sleep, relax, and take in the surroundings.  Remember, this is your vacation! You should feel rejuvenated by the experience, rather than exhausted. 

1. _{Britton, E., Kindermann, G., Domegan, C., & Carlin, C. (2020). Blue care: a systematic review of blue space interventions for health and wellbeing. Health promotion international, 35(1), 50–69. https://doi.org/10.1093/heapro/day103}

2. _{Heinonen, I., & Laukkanen, J. A. (2018). Effects of heat and cold on health, with special reference to Finnish sauna bathing. American journal of physiology. Regulatory, integrative and comparative physiology, 314(5), R629–R638. https://doi.org/10.1152/ajpregu.00115.2017}

3. _{Pretty, J., Rogerson, M., & Barton, J. (2017). Green Mind Theory: How Brain-Body-Behaviour Links into Natural and Social Environments for Healthy Habits. International journal of environmental research and public health, 14(7), 706. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph14070706}

4. _{Sands, R. https://www.forbes.com/sites/rogersands/2025/01/16/global-wellness-tourism-surges-toward-the-1-trillion-mark/}

5. _{Wang, K., Wang, P., Li, Y., Wang, C., Veldheer, S., Wang, F., Na, M., Sun, L., & Gao, X. (2025). Association between yoga and multimorbidity: a nationwide study of 279,885 middle-aged and older adults. BMC public health, 25(1), 888. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-025-22035-5}