Image: Vahine Island, courtesy of Small Luxury Hotels of the World

In 1979, anchorman Dan Rather did a 60-minute segment on the wellness industry, with the lead in, “Wellness, there’s a word you don’t hear everyday.” Whether or not you were up to date on wellness trends in the late ‘70s, fast forward forty years, and travellers are now hard-pressed to find a getaway that doesn’t offer some type of wellness-related option.

Globally, wellness is a U$ 3.4 trillion industry—it is 3.4 times larger than the global pharmaceutical industry, according to the Global Wellness Institute. The industry is so large, it encompasses ten sub-sectors, with wellness tourism alone accounting for U$ 494 billion of the industry.

No matter how you prefer to meet your wellness goals, whether it means luxuriating at a rejuvenating spa, eating lighter or heading out on a more active vacation, there’s sure to be a vacation to match your needs.

The properties of Small Luxury Hotels of the World (SLH), a portfolio of more than 520 independently-owned hotels, have designed a variety of healthy getaways that not only incorporate wellness but also highlight local customs and the natural environment, to create wholly unique wellness getaways.

Laughter Therapy on the Beach – If you subscribe to the theory that laughter is the best medicine, it’s time to head for Heritage Le Telfair in Mauritius. Here, a laughter yoga specialist guides guests through laughter and deep breathing exercises in a glorious seaside setting alongside the Indian Ocean. Laughter therapy has been shown to release endorphins which can help relax muscles, boost circulation and relieve pain. www.slh.com/telfair

The Merano Grape Cure – While there have been numerous studies on how drinking a glass of wine a day can have significant beneficial effects, at the Park Hotel Mignon & Spa in Merano, Italy, the Merano Grape Cure has been used as a wellness remedy dating back to the Austrian-Hungarian Empire. Here grapes are consumed in large quantities daily to help cleanse organs and improve the digestion. The hotel's spa also uses the Merano grapes in various treatments, including a body peel that uses the husks of pressed grapes and a massage scented with grape seed oil. www.slh.com/parkmignon

Art Therapy – If de-stressing on your own private island at Vahine Island in Tahaa, French Polynesia isn’t enough to cure what ails you, perhaps a relaxing art therapy class can help you relieve tension. At Vahine Island’s art workshop, guests use local shells, coconuts and sand to create one-of-a-kind masterpieces, while Tahitian music plays in the background. The resort encourages guests to participate in the workshop at least twice, once at the start of their stay and again at the end, in order to see what effect the getaway has had on their emotional state. www.slh.com/vahine

Anchorage Yoga and Forest Pilates -- Guests at Thalatta Seaside Hotel in Evia, Greece can participate in a comprehensive program that takes incorporates the restorative effects of the sea and the forest for optimal wellness. Guests start out the day enjoying a yoga session on a private boat, followed by a guided hike and Pilates in the forest behind the hotel. The hotel provides each guest with a bio-metric watch for the duration of their stay, and they can check in daily with the wellness concierge to receive analytics and health advice. www.slh.com/thalatta

Tailor-Made Tea Prescription – At Lefay Resort & Spa in Lake Garda, Italy, guests can combine Western scientific research with the ancient study of Chinese medicine to handcraft their wellness regimen. Here, the Lefay Spa Method uses herbal teas to practice the ancient art of phytotherapy. Upon arrival, guests will provide their wellness goals, upon which they are prescribed a tailor-made tea by an in-house health specialist. More than 40 medicinal plants are used, both for their healing properties as well as their energising qualities. www.slh.com/lefay

For more information about SLH hotels, visit www.slh.com. .

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