Passion of the people – 1.5.5
Journeys to oneself and the role of the stars
In the previous chapters, you have already dealt with delimitations related to stargazing: Astrology, Esotericism, Spirituality, Science and Pseudoscience. If this chapter is about the “journey to oneself”, we want to look at the role the stars play in self-awareness and how this need can be met with tourist products. Our discussion is based on trend observations in tourism, according to which there is a connection between self-awareness and the experience of nature. Astrotourism seems to have the potential to complement in a perfect way the special needs of travellers identified in recent tourism research.
So far, we have mainly looked at the tourism potential of astrotourism in its relation to nature tourism and cultural tourism. In the last chapter you were given references to tourism trend studies, and if we look at these more closely, it becomes clear that the tourism potential of astrotourism is much broader than that:
- travellers want to spend at least part of their trip experiencing new or unique activities,
- transformation retreats will become a popular tool to help people achieve their full potential,
- people will travel for personal betterment,
- travellers want to ensure their travel experiences are deeper and more meaningful than ever before, learning something new about themselves in the process
- silent retreats are at the heart of a growing trend in transformational travel,
- relaxation, exploration, and inspiration are gaining travel relevance,
- Wellness and improving quality of life are going to fuel future travel.
More people are embracing completely new and novel experiences in their travel journeys — but they still want wellness as the main driver for their trip, especially post Covid-19. This includes overall wellness, spa, relaxation and spiritual journeys. Global travellers are seeking silent retreats and experimental wellness experiences, with more than two-fifths wanting a “health hiatus”, so accommodations offering meditation, yoga or just the promise of simplicity with a beautiful view will continue to trend. Alternative getaways such as sylvotherapy (forest bathing), chakra sessions, food boot camps, puppy yoga, laughter therapy, and fruit harvesting are increasingly more popular than classics such as cookery courses, sports trips, and meditation sessions.
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