Why the Wellness Retreat Ruined Women's Travel

The Rise of Women's Solo Travel and the Industry That Saw an Opening

Somewhere after 2010, the travel industry saw a shift in demographics and an increased appetite in global travel. And although it was a bit of a golden era - post recession, pre pandemic, with the open borders of the EU and the rise of movies such as "Under the Tuscan Sun" - something changed. And kept changing. Women now make 82% of travel decisions and control roughly $73 billion in annual travel spending in the United States alone. Between 2011 and 2024, searches for "solo female travel" grew by more than eleven times. Women are expected to spend $125 billion on travel this year, with female travelers consistently outspending male counterparts per trip. By 2028, women are projected to control 75% of discretionary spending.

The travel industry noticed. Women's travel, particularly solo travel, became the fastest-growing segment in tourism. With that much spending power concentrated in a demographic hungry for connection and new experiences, the market responded robustly... with the wellness retreat.

The global wellness retreat market was valued at $180 billion in 2022 and is projected to reach $364 billion by 2032. Yoga tourism alone is projected to grow from $177 billion in 2024 to $222 billion by 2030, with the women's segment expected to reach $145 billion. That growth didn't happen by accident. The wellness retreat succeeded in part because it was easy to organize and highly marketable: rent a villa, hire a yoga instructor, pay some influencers, book a photographer, post it online. The infrastructure was already there, the margins were excellent and demand was strong.

We're not against wellness. We've arranged spa weeks in Baden-Baden (we love it), retreats in the Scottish Highlands, and have access to thermal baths in Iceland and even meditation centers in Bhutan. Wellness has its place. But somewhere in the last decade, it became the alibi women needed to justify traveling together, as though group travel required a yoga mat or a book club to be legitimate.

The problem wasn't that wellness retreats existed. The problem was that they became the only template for women's group travel, and the template is narrow.

Adventure Travel for Women Became Conditional on Self- Betterment

Scroll through Instagram or TikTok and the pattern repeats: women's travel retreats in Bali, Tulum, Morocco, Portugal. Pilates on a terrace at sunrise. Book discussions over breakfast. Boudoir photoshoots at golden hour. Journal prompts between spa treatments. Cacao ceremonies. Group meditations. Every one promises community, connection, transformation.

Women's Retreats and the Illusion of Community

Women's retreats often capitalise on the innate desire for community among women, presenting themselves as sanctuaries for connection and growth. However, these retreats can be limiting in their offerings, frequently tethered to specific environments such as libraries, chateaus, or yoga mats. While they promise a sense of belonging and shared experience, the settings can restrict the authenticity of the connections formed. The curated nature of these retreats may lead participants to engage in superficial interactions rather than fostering deep, meaningful relationships. Ultimately, while they deliver a semblance of community, the constraints of their environments can inhibit genuine connection and personal growth.

For women who want to travel with other women but have no interest in that framework, the options narrow dramatically. The wellness retreat has become synonymous with women's group travel, which meant women who wanted something else - a trek in Central Asia, wild swimming off the Irish coast, a week in Kazakhstan on horseback - have been left to either go alone or not at all.

What Women Actually Want (According to the Comments Section)

We spend considerable time watching travel content. A video of a Pilates retreat in Portugal accumulates thousands of likes. Gorgeous villa, beautiful women in linen, and sunrise sessions overlooking the ocean. The comments fill with praise: "This looks incredible," "Obsessed with this aesthetic," "Adding to my list."

Then someone posts a video of horseback riding in Kazakhstan. Rugged landscape, no spa in sight, no curated breakfast spread, and dimly lit tents. The video gets a fraction of the engagement. But the comments tell a different story. Dozens of women writing the same thing: "I want to do this but I don't have anyone to go with."

That gap between what performs well algorithmically and what women actually want to do is where the opportunity sits. Women want community. The wellness retreat industrial complex (as our founder calls it) heard that cry for 'a village' and responded with: here's a library, here's a yoga studio, here's a journal and a sharing circle. Stay in these spaces. Bond over these prescribed activities. This is where women belong.

We find that assumption both condescending and limiting. Some women want to wild swim in cold water with other women who aren't afraid of it. They want to watch the Northern Lights from the Arctic Circle with women who'd rather experience them than sit and read. They want to explore Kyrgyzstan with kindred spirits who are curious and fearless without needing a wellness framework to justify the trip.

None of that requires a retreat structure. It requires organization, logistics, vetted guides, and someone willing to build itineraries for regions that take more effort than Tulum.

Why the Wellness Retreat Model Won (And What It Cost)

The wellness retreat succeeded for clear economic reasons. Margins were strong. Infrastructure was available. Destinations were accessible. Marketing was straightforward. North America has dominated the wellness tourism market with nearly 40% of revenue in 2022, mostly driven by affluent populations and a culture valuing personal well-being. Weekend retreats still hold more than 60% of market share, which meant the model works for busy professionals with limited time.

The business case remains sound, but the ubiquity has come at a cost. Women who wanted adventure travel have found themselves with limited group options. The infrastructure for women's adventure travel exists, but organising it requires more work than renting a villa and hiring local yoga instructors. It requires relationships with guides in regions where English isn't widely spoken, vetted transport in places where infrastructure is less predictable, and accommodation that meets high standards in countries where luxury properties are rare.

Most operators don't bother. The wellness retreat is easier, more profitable, and algorithmically popular. Women who wanted something else are left to either go alone, join mixed-gender tours (which solved the logistics but not the community), or wait for someone to organise the alternative.

Solo Female Travel Without the Wellness Alibi

If someone is a solo female traveler, they've likely experienced interest in a destination that requires effort (Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Svalbard, Namibia) but no one to go with. And let's be so real: friends often lack the time, budget, or interest. Booking a private trip is possible but expensive when traveling alone, and the stress of safety can overwhelm even the most adventuresome. Joining a group tour means either gap-year backpackers or retirees on coach buses. Neither appeals.

The choice becomes: go alone or don't go at all.

Peregrina works in that gap. We arrange high-touch adventure travel for solo women or small groups who have high standards and limited time. Cultural and adventure travel is dominated by women, with 63% of participants being female, which suggests the demand is there. What's been missing is the organization.

What Adventure Travel for Women Actually Requires

The wellness retreat succeeded because organising it was straightforward. Boutique hotels, wellness practitioners, and Instagram-ready locations were already available. Women's adventure travel requires more work. But we love that work.

We've spent years building key relationships, from female-centered guides in Kyrgyzstan who lead multi-day treks and also recommend the best private guesthouses in the mountains. Drivers in Kazakhstan who understand that women traveling without male companions require different safety protocols. Routes in the Arctic, the Balkans, the Irish coast - places that don't have the same infrastructure as Provence or Tuscany but are worth the additional effort.

The infrastructure for women's adventure travel exists. Someone just needs to organize it properly. That's where luxury travel consultancies come in.

What Happens When We Stop Limiting Women's Travel

Women should be able to travel in groups without being directed toward a mat or a library. Adventure travel for women doesn't need a wellness alibi. It doesn't need a photoshoot, a journal prompt, or a sharing circle to justify itself.

What it needs: logistics handled by someone who knows the region. Transport arranged between locations that aren't always easy to reach. English-speaking guides who understand culture and terrain. Vetted accommodation that meets high standards without requiring anyone to rough it unnecessarily. Group sizes kept deliberately small so participants travel together, not herd with tourists.

We've worked in the travel industry long enough to know which destinations require local expertise, which operators we trust, which itineraries work in theory but fail in practice. We know which regions are safe for women traveling together and which require additional precautions. We know how to pace trips so participants are challenged but not exhausted, scheduled but not overpacked.

Women who want to travel together want what anyone wants from group travel: good company, good logistics, and freedom to focus on the destination instead of the planning. The wellness retreat provided one version of that. We're providing another.

If you're a solo female traveler interested in adventure travel, from Central Asia, the Arctic Circle, the Balkans, Patagonia, get in touch. We're building the alternative to the retreat model, and we're looking for women who want to get out and see the world, not just do another weekend in Tulum.