Travel
Writers Design New Wellness Travel Vacations
Well
Traveled Tours is a new direct-to-consumer tour company designed
to fulfill the growing baby boomer demand for wellness lifestyle
vacations. The company is the first wellness travel company
to offer vacation packages designed by professional travel writers.
Boca
Raton, FL (PRWEB) November 19, 2005 -- Well Traveled Tours (www.welltraveledtours.com)
launches today as a new direct-to-consumer tour company designed
to fulfill the growing baby boomer demand for wellness lifestyle
vacations. The company is the first wellness travel company
to offer vacation packages designed by professional travel writers.
To
help raise its profile to the consumer, Well Traveled Tours
is offering a “Healing Vacation in Hawaii” contest.
The winner will receive a round trip airfare for two from North
America and 7 days to enjoy the luxury of Hawaii’s paradise
surroundings while staying at Kona´s newest gem, The Sheraton
Keauhou Beach Resort and Spa. Consumers can sign up for the
contest at www.welltraveledtours.com.
Deadline for entry is March 1, 2006. The winning entry will
be announced on or about March 15, 2006.
Each
Well Traveled Tours vacation contains three key elements: Fitness
and Healthy Lifestyle, Spa and Relaxation, and World Discover/Self-Discovery.
Examples of tour activities include yoga or cooking under the
Fitness and Health Lifestyle category, and massages and meditation
under Spa and Relaxation. Self-Discovery/World Discover activities
range from coaching seminars, to classes on local cultures.
Each
Well Traveled Tours vacation contains three key elements: Fitness
and Healthy Lifestyle, Spa and Relaxation, and World Discover/Self-Discovery.
Examples of tour activities include yoga or cooking under the
Fitness and Health Lifestyle category, and massages and meditation
under Spa and Relaxation. Self-Discovery/World Discover activities
range from coaching seminars, to classes on local cultures.
Accommodations
include four star luxury resorts that are well known for their
spas and comprehensive gym facilities. Hotels are also chosen
for their close proximity to tourist and entertainment areas
to encourage Well Traveled Tours participants to see the city
on foot.
Betty
Alexander, president of Well Traveled Tours, explains, “We
wanted to create a service that would appeal to the Baby Boomer
interested in embracing an active and balanced lifestyle. Research
has shown that this demographic loves to travel, has the disposable
income, and is increasingly concerned with wellness issues –
from eating right and fitness to finding quality time for themselves
and re-examining their life goals.”
Well
Traveled Tours brings a broad definition of wellness to its
vacation packages. “We believe in balance and moderation
but also in fun. We’ll offer yoga and meditation but you’ll
also find us enjoying a glass of fine wine and a decadent seafood
dinner in Puerto Vallarta. You’ll see us trekking through
a Thai jungle on an elephant but coming back to the hotel in
time for a relaxing massage and a nap around the pool.”
According
to the Travel Industry Association of America’s (TIA) Domestic
Travel Report, Baby Boomers generate more travel than any other
age group in the U.S., registering more than 241 million household
trips a year. Mature travelers (age 55+) took 31 per cent of
all household trips. Baby Boomers are also the most affluent
group, with 44 per cent having an annual income of $75,000 or
more.
Alexander
adds that in conceiving Well Traveled Tours, input from industry
professionals was critical. “We decided the best way to
design a vacation was to consult with the professional travel
writer since they have stayed at the hotels and eaten the restaurant
food. We also wanted to go beyond the typical packaged tourist
experience. We wanted to offer them the exceptional – the
very best that a travel writer has experienced.”
Anne
Dimon, travel columnist and founder/editor of traveltowellness.com
is one of those travel writers who will be hosting January’s
Mexico trip. “Well Traveled Tours is on the forefront of
an emerging travel niche,” she says. “The wellness
vacation is going to be the hot new category especially for
Baby Boomers who want to be more pro-active in managing a wellness
lifestyle. The natural extension is to carry that wellness zeal
over into their vacation time.” Dimon is already designing
upscale wellness vacations for Travel to Wellness that she herself
will host, but “the marketplace needs more – more
options, more destinations. Well Traveled Tours will help feed
the growing demand.
Destinations
will be selected for their reputable wellness offerings with
vacations ranging from get-away weekends to longer overseas
excursions. Beginning January 1, 2006 trips to Puerto Vallarta,
Mexico, Hawaii and Thailand will be offered. The company will
continue to add new wellness tours to Italy, France, Alaska,
Canada and more.
A
sampling of tour highlights include:
Puerto
Vallarta – a one week adventure with hiking through jungles
in the Sierra Madre foothills, a unique temazcalli (ancient
purifying sweat-lodge ritual dating back to Aztec times), therapeutic
massages and body wraps, snorkeling, and daily yoga lessons.
Hawaii
– a seven day package to The Healing Island includes native
spa treatments, a Hawaiian luau, a cleansing and healing ritual
at one of the island’s sacred sites, and a geological trip
to Volcanoes National Park. Susanne Sims, the author of Healing
Vacations in Hawaii will host the tour.
Thailand
– a two week tour that starts in Bangkok, where travelers
will discover the pleasures of the ancient Thai massage and
visit the Baan Dvara Prateep Wellness House to practice meditation
and deep-breathing techniques. In the moated city of Chiang
Mai, visitors will learn about the culture and traditions of
hill tribes over dinner, bathe an elephant, take a trek through
the jungle to dine and dance with the tribal people and receive
a blessing from a Buddhist monk. Anita Draycott, travel journalist
and managing editor of GolfStyle magazine will host this vacation.
Prices
for hosted tours are competitive with major tour operators,
starting at approximately US$1500/per person based on double
occupancy (land only). Tours are sold online at www.welltraveledtours.com
or through 1-888-WELL-ALL (1-888-935-5255). Flight arrangements
and extended accommodations can be made through the customer’s
travel agent or through Well Traveled Tours’ affiliated
partner, Lorraine Travel. Lorraine Travel, founded in 1948,
is one of the largest privately owned travel management companies
in Florida, with significant resources in both Corporate Travel
Management and Personal Vacation Travel Planning (www.lorrainetravel.com).
About
Well Traveled Tours
Well Traveled Tours is a Boca Raton-based company offering wellness
vacations designed by professional travel writers. Vacation
packages to world destinations will appeal to travelers aiming
to balance the pressures of hectic jobs and busy lives while
making time for laughter, family, friendships and a little pampering.
Each vacation package contains three key elements: Fitness and
Healthy Lifestyle, Spa and Relaxation, and World Discover/Self-Discovery.
