SYNERGY LAUNCHES GLOBAL RESEARCH INITIATIVE TO BENCHMARK THE FUTURE OF RETREATS AND WELLNESS TRAVEL
New annual research will bring together consumer and industry perspectives to explore the motivations, behaviours and trends shaping retreats and wellness travel
Synergy – The Retreat Show has announced the launch of its inaugural global research initiative, designed to build a deeper understanding of the evolving retreat sector and its growing role within the wider wellness travel landscape.
The research will bring together two distinct perspectives: professionals working across the retreat and wellness travel ecosystem and consumers, including both experienced retreat guests and people who have never attended a retreat.
The findings will form the basis of The Global Retreat Report 2026, Synergy's inaugural annual research publication exploring the behaviours, expectations and trends shaping retreats and their influence on the future of wellness travel.
Despite the continued growth of wellness tourism and increasing consumer interest in transformative travel experiences, dedicated research into the retreat sector remains limited. As retreats become an increasingly important part of the wider wellness travel landscape, Synergy's new research initiative aims to establish an annual benchmark against which changing consumer behaviours, industry challenges and emerging opportunities can be measured.
The study will explore why people attend retreats, what influences their booking decisions, the barriers preventing wider participation and the outcomes consumers hope to achieve. It will also examine changing guest demand, retreat success factors, industry confidence, commercial and operational challenges, emerging retreat categories and the evolving channels through which retreats are discovered and booked.
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A key focus of the research will be comparing consumer demand and industry expectations, identifying where perceptions align, where gaps may exist and what these insights could mean for the future development of retreats and the wider wellness travel sector.
Laura Montesanti, Founder of Synergy – The Retreat Show, said:
"The retreat sector is evolving incredibly quickly and becoming an increasingly important part of the wider wellness travel landscape, yet there is still very little dedicated data helping us understand the people driving that growth or the consumers it ultimately serves.
We are introducing this research because I believe knowledge is essential to progress. By listening to both the industry and consumers, including those who have never attended a retreat, we can begin to build a clearer picture of what people are truly seeking, where the barriers lie and how retreats, and wellness travel more broadly, can evolve more responsibly and intentionally.
Our ambition is for this research to become an annual benchmark, giving the industry meaningful insight against which we can measure change, challenge assumptions and make better decisions about the future of wellness travel."
Industry professionals from across hospitality, wellness and travel are being invited to contribute, including retreat leaders and organisers, hotel and resort leaders, general managers, spa and wellness directors, travel advisors, destination management companies, wellness practitioners, consultants, hospitality investors and developers.
The consumer research is open to everyone, from regular retreat guests to people considering their first retreat and those who have never previously considered attending one.
To thank participants for contributing to the research, eligible respondents may also choose to enter a prize draw for the chance to win one of three wellness travel experiences provided by Synergy industry partners.
The research opens on 10 July 2026 and closes on 7 August 2026.
The inaugural findings will be unveiled at Synergy – The Retreat Show 2026, taking place in Istria, Croatia, from 29 September to 2 October, before the publication of The Global Retreat Report 2026.