Wellness: the defining trend for the coming year

News feeds at the end of every year are dominated by trends reports, consumer surveys and market round-ups from hotel chains, media outlets and market analysts.

Each predicts what’s set to dominate consumer behaviour in the year ahead. As we enter 2026, wellness takes centre stage in almost every end-of-year trends forecast, with many dedicated entirely to the sector.

Future Forecast 2026

The Future Laboratory’s Future Forecast 2026 spotlights 50 cross-sector trends that will define the year ahead.

It predicts the defining theme of 2026 will be connection – between people, systems and senses – guided by a new mindset of rhythmic health.

The report suggests wellbeing will be reframed as consumers tune in to the body’s natural rhythms – embracing chrononutrition, somatic intelligence and cyclical living.

In 2026, The Future Laboratory predicts health and wellness will be defined by care that listens, technologies that adapt and lifestyles that honour rhythm over rigidity.

The future model of health and wellness will be more attuned to the body’s natural intelligence.

Alice Crossley, senior foresight analyst, says: “The industry has been fixated on optimisation for some time now, but there is a shift happening towards something softer, more intuitive and balanced.”

Wellness predictions:

• Consumers will increasingly seek to align their daily routines with circadian rhythms
• Circadian awareness will also reshape how people rest and recover
• Preventative mindsets will lead programming as consumers seek to manage wellbeing continuously and unobtrusively, without the burden of constant self-tracking
• The global wearable patch market will skyrocket as transdermal products move further into the consumer realm
• Women’s hormonal health will become both a moral imperative and a market opportunity – brands will need to balance innovation with integrity

Minor Hotels Travel Trends Report 2026

The inaugural Minor Hotels Travel Trends Report, entitled Travelling Deeper: A Search for Lasting Connection, illustrates the shift for hotels from simply delivering service to helping guests find meaning through their journeys.

Travellers are prioritising quality over quantity, seeking experiences that deliver personal value rather than simply more trips.

While travellers remain optimistic for the year ahead, affordability remains a leading factor shaping plans for 53 per cent of respondents.

This is followed by seasonality (42 per cent), ease of travel (40 per cent) and time (40 per cent).

Dillip Rajakarier, group CEO of Minor International, parent company of Minor Hotels, says: “Today’s travellers want more than destinations, they want stories, connections and meaning. Our trend report reveals a growing appetite for authentic engagement that prioritises wellbeing and cultural depth.”

The report predicts that travel in 2026 will be about togetherness and dominated by multi-generational escapes.

Even on group journeys, travellers plan to carve out space for solitude and nature to recharge. Forty-four per cent plan to integrate more wellness or mindfulness into their trips, rising to 73 per cent among those already engaged in wellness practices.

Spa treatments lead as the top-choice activity (75 per cent), followed by nature-based experiences (59 per cent) and fitness (49 per cent).

Future Fuel 2026

Travel company Black Tomato predicts the year ahead will see a focus on looking up and looking in – celebrating the mindful act of observing the night skies.

The report states: In an era of constant connectivity, these journeys offer luxury’s rarest commodity: the space to hear yourself think.

Wellness, it predicts, is evolving from solo pursuits to shared rituals, where travel can helps families reset and reshape daily life back home. Families will seek shared rituals and routines that are grounded in healthy and holistic habits.

Travel predictions

• Wild swimming will shift from a niche hobby to a meaningful travel ritual
• Travellers will seek places where sound becomes their guide so they can choose when to tune in and when to tune out
• The rise of Humate – intentionally integrating human empathy and creativity with intelligent technology to achieve something greater than either could alone.

Pinterest Predicts 2026

The social media platform’s not-yet trending report, Pinterest Predicts 2026, looks at the tomorrow’s trends might be.

In terms of travel, the brand predicts a rise in all things mystical, with Baby Boomers and Milennials set to seek over ever more whimsical destinations. Gen Z, it predicts, will be more inclined to seek out adrenaline inspired tourism that puts them out of their comfort zone.

The main food trend will be wellness centric with searches for fermented foods – especially cabbage – up 35 per cent.

Condé Naste Traveller

In its annual Wellness Travel Trends report, Condé Naste Traveller predicts star bathing will become the new forest bathing and beige will become the new blue therapy as people head to desert landscapes for their unique therapeutic benefits.

It’s predictions for 2026 also include:

• Wellness seekers are craving connection and will increasingly want to be social
• Spas will take a more 360-degree approach to what women need at various stages of their life
• Resorts will developing retreats around low-key hobbies that force us to slow things down.

For European Spa’s predictions on what’s set to shape the wellness sector in 2026, look out for the Spa Leaders Handbook 2026, out in January.

Sign up here to receive the Spa Leaders Handbook as soon as it goes live.