As American travelers seek more meaningful wellness travel experiences, Ananda in the Himalayas is seeing a shift toward longer stays, younger guests and personalized programs rooted in ancient Indian traditions.
For travel advisors who think wellness travel is simply about spa treatments, yoga classes and a few days of relaxation, Ananda has a different story to tell.
Celebrating more than 25 years as a pioneer in destination wellness, the retreat is seeing a significant shift in how travelers, particularly Americans, approach their wellbeing. They’re staying longer, traveling specifically for wellness rather than incorporating it into a broader itinerary and looking for programs that address everything from sleep and hormonal health to stress, emotional wellbeing and longevity.
And while the wellness industry continues to introduce new treatments, technologies and approaches, Ananda is leaning into the ancient Indian traditions that have been at the heart of its philosophy since opening in 2000.
A New Kind of Wellness Traveler
Perhaps one of the most telling changes at Ananda is how American travelers are booking the retreat. Historically, U.S. guests tended to visit for a few days at the end of an India vacation. That’s no longer the case.
“These past five, six, seven years have been a complete sea change in how U.S. travelers come in,” Mahesh Natarajan, Chief Operating Officer of Ananda in the Himalayas, tells Recommend. “So today, I get less than 10 to 15 percent of my clients from America who come in on short stays at the end of an India tour.
“The remaining 80, 85 percent are actually coming in for full-length wellness immersions, for anything between, like 10 days to two weeks.”
The demographics are changing, too. While Ananda traditionally attracted guests in their 50s and older, it is increasingly welcoming travelers in their 30s and 40s, including entrepreneurs, business owners and C-suite executives.
“Inside, they’re struggling,” Natarajan says of many high-achieving professionals. “I can’t tell you the number of people who come to us and say, ‘I’ve achieved so much in my life, but I’m feeling empty inside. I don’t know what the future holds for me. I don’t know if my life has any purpose.’”
Solo travel is another notable trend, accounting for approximately 60 percent of Ananda’s business. And while women still represent a slight majority of guests, the retreat is seeing growing interest among men.
“It’s the rise of male travelers that is also a surprising trend,” he says.
Ancient Traditions, Modern Concerns
Set on a 100-acre former Maharaja’s palace estate overlooking the Ganges Valley near Rishikesh, Ananda draws on a region widely regarded as the birthplace of yoga and meditation. Its foundational pillars—Ayurveda, yoga and meditation—have remained unchanged, but the retreat’s approach to delivering them has evolved considerably.
“Our foundational pillars haven’t changed,” points out Natarajan. “It still remains Ayurveda, just a lot deeper. It’s still yoga and meditation but a lot deeper.”
Today, Ananda offers highly personalized wellness programs addressing rejuvenation and vitality, detoxification, stress management, emotional wellbeing, hormonal balance, sleep enhancement and chronic lifestyle-related concerns.
For women, dedicated programs address menstrual, reproductive, perimenopausal and menopausal health. The retreat has also incorporated elements of traditional Chinese medicine to complement its Ayurvedic approach, particularly in areas related to hormonal health.
One of the more significant developments has been Ananda’s expanded focus on emotional healing. Rather than offering emotional wellness consultations solely as optional add-ons, the retreat now includes an initial consultation with an emotional therapist for every guest participating in a wellness program.
“Everybody who comes to Ananda on a wellness program now gets a mandatory meeting with an emotional therapist,” he explains.
He notes that the response has been particularly revealing among male guests, who are now booking follow-up emotional healing sessions at rates comparable to women.
What Travel Advisors Need to Know
For travel advisors, selling this type of wellness experience requires a different conversation with clients. And according to Natarajan, advisors may already have wellness clients without realizing it.
“If you have a client who’s traveling for luxury,” he says, “you have a wellness client.”
The challenge, he explains, is introducing wellness into conversations with clients who might not otherwise consider this type of vacation. Ananda is helping advisors do just that through educational webinars and workshops that explore wellness travel and introduce the principles of Ayurveda.
“We’re just trying to guide travel advisors through webinars and workshops,” among other virtual tools,” he explains.
Advisors also aren’t expected to determine which program is appropriate for a client. Ananda’s team can become involved early in the planning process, arranging an exploratory consultation with an Ayurvedic consultant to better understand the client’s lifestyle, health concerns and objectives.
“Booking and all of that comes much later,” he says. “When you have a client who you feel is open to listening about this,” Ananda can arrange the consultation.
And duration matters. While a week can provide an introduction to Ayurveda and yoga, more intensive programs can require two or three weeks, depending on the client’s objectives.
More Than a Wellness Program
There’s also the setting itself. Located in the Himalayan foothills, approximately a 45-minute flight from Delhi to Dehradun followed by a drive into the hills, Ananda offers guests an opportunity to disconnect from their everyday surroundings.
The estate is surrounded by forests and lies near a national park, providing opportunities for nature walks, birdwatching and wildlife excursions. Guests can also participate in group activities ranging from sound healing and Ayurvedic cooking classes to philosophy discussions, chanting, yoga and meditation.
And while the retreat welcomes guests who simply want to enjoy the property and its wellness offerings, those enrolled in dedicated programs follow a more structured experience, including personalized menus developed according to Ayurvedic principles.
But the experience doesn’t end when guests check out.
“When you leave, we give you a full 3-month plan,” he says. “There’s follow up.”
For Ananda, he explains, the real measure of success comes after guests have returned home and begun incorporating what they’ve learned into their everyday lives.
