More than two thirds of respondents said wellbeing will play a greater role in future booking decisions. A significant proportion also said life stage changes have directly influenced how they now travel.
For many in midlife, those life stage pressures include caring for ageing parents, supporting older children, managing senior career roles and navigating health changes such as menopause. Many describe themselves as part of the sandwich generation, balancing responsibility at both ends of the family.
Peace and quiet ranked alongside sleep as a top priority, while access to nature was rated as important by the vast majority of participants. Simple restorative activities such as walking and reading ranked higher for wellbeing than premium wellness experiences including hot tubs, saunas and plunge pools.
Among the 140+ travellers surveyed, simple restorative activities significantly outperformed luxury wellness features, with 84% choosing walking and 53% choosing reading or creative hobbies, compared with just 30% selecting hot tubs and only 5% selecting outdoor saunas.
Yvonne Dean, from Country Cottages Online said: “Gen X are redefining what a successful holiday looks like. It is no longer about packed itineraries. It is about proper rest. Sleep, calm and time outdoors are becoming non negotiable for midlife travellers.”
Sleep tourism gained global attention last year, with hotels promoting sleep programmes and recovery retreats. However, this data suggests the trend is being embedded by mainstream midlife travellers who are using travel as a tool to protect long term health.
As conversations around burnout and midlife wellbeing become more mainstream, the findings indicate that sleep is emerging as the ultimate luxury for this generation.
ENDS