Travel Trends 2023: Transformation Retreats

The forces that motivate us to travel can be mapped on a triangle similar to Maslow’s “Hierarchy of Needs”. At the bottom would be travel as a necessity—to remove us from danger (known as Safety on Maslow’s diagram). Next might be travel to help us achieve deeper human connections (known as Love and Belonging), followed by traveling to build our knowledge and status (known as Esteem). This level is pegged to the Experience Economy—the idea that goods or services are valuable because of the positive effect they can have on our lives. So what’s at the summit of the pyramid? According to American psychologist Abraham Maslow, after we have met all those other “needs”, the ultimate goal is Self Actualization—in essence, “being your best self”. This is true of travel, too—this year, transformation retreats are becoming a popular tool to help people achieve their full potential.

After a year of travel for post pandemic fun and reunion, 2023 will be the year people travel for personal betterment. Whether they are seeking to overcome grief, identify a life’s mission, or discover what they’re body is physically capable of, there will be a transformation retreat that caters to it. Healing Holidays is a good place to start when it comes to planning as it aggregates retreats from around the world according to the kind of experience you might want to have.

At Euphoria in Greece, you can sign up for an "emotional and physical" transformation retreat that includes dance therapy and self-awareness group sessions. Next year, Advivum Journeys will be hosting “Radical Sabbaticals” in Kent (England), while the Heartbreak Hotel in the British Peak District will be inviting women to its signature “Moving Beyond Betrayal” retreat in the autumn. Over in the Caribbean, the Aerial BVI will be delivering a series of themed summits (abundance, strength, love, presence, and dream) on a private island.

Retreats and transformation services range in scope and fees as you can imagine, but expect to see more of them available and being talked about as a way of travel.