Wellness travel is no longer just about spa days. Travellers are increasingly seeking deeper restorative experiences -mental and physical reset, time in nature, slow travel and meaningful cultural connection. Increasingly, that includes experiences rooted in living Indigenous cultures and ancient relationships with the land: traditions of healing, observation, and deep connection to place that have existed for thousands of years. Canada, with its vast protected wilderness, world-class retreat product and a genuinely world-leading Indigenous tourism offering, is perfectly placed to deliver all of it.

The numbers reflect the shift. According to the Global Wellness Institute's 2025 Monitor, the global wellness economy reached US$6.8 trillion in 2024 - double its size since 2013, and is projected to approach US$9.8 trillion by 2029, with wellness tourism recording 13.8% growth in 2024 alone.

From the Pacific rainforests of British Columbia to the Arctic tundra of Manitoba, the Canadian Rockies to the shores of the St. Lawrence, the country's regions each offer something distinct and each one puts the landscape at the centre of the experience.

Across Canada, experiences are increasingly blending personal wellbeing with slower travel, environmental stewardship and Indigenous cultural connection where the landscape itself becomes the wellness experience.

Wellness Experiences Shaped by Nature

 British Columbia - Forest, ocean and coastal wilderness

British Columbia has become a hub for nature-based wellness experiences where forest, ocean and mountain environments shape the visitor experience.

At Nimmo Bay Wilderness Resort, located in the southern Great Bear Rainforest, guests can enjoy outdoor massages beside waterfalls, ocean plunges, cedar hot tubs and yoga sessions surrounded by old-growth forest. A floating sauna offers a meditative steam experience between wilderness adventures.

On Vancouver Island, Tofino Resort + Marina offers a remote floating wood-fired sauna experience in Clayoquot Sound, a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. Guests travel by boat to the sauna where they can disconnect from devices and alternate between steam sessions, cold ocean dips and paddleboarding along quiet coastal waters.

In the Kootenay Mountains, Mountain Trek Fitness Retreat & Health Spa combines Nordic hiking, yoga and nutrition programs with spa treatments overlooking Kootenay Lake, reconnecting visitors with the surrounding forest environment through guided active wellness.

Alberta - Alpine wellness in the Canadian Rockies

The Canadian Rockies are increasingly recognised for active wellness experiences combining nature immersion with mental reset.

In Banff National Park, Stellar Experiences offers guided, mindful nature immersion journeys designed to slow the pace and deepen connection with the mountain environment. Forest Fix leads forest bathing sessions inspired by the Japanese practice of Shinrin Yoku - shown to reduce stress and restore mental clarity.

For a deeper connection to the land, Mahikan Trails offers Indigenous-led medicine walks rooted in traditional knowledge and plant teachings. Moving slowly through the landscape with an Indigenous guide, visitors learn about native plants, cultural relationships with the land and the restorative practice of deep observation. Wellness in its most grounded and culturally meaningful form.

At Fairmont Château Lake Louise, BASIN Glacial Waters is a new alpine thermal wellness experience available exclusively to hotel guests, combining hydrotherapy pools, relaxation spaces and nature-inspired treatments with views over the glacier-fed lake and Rocky Mountain peaks.

Just outside Calgary, Azuridge Estate Hotel's Flourish Spa blends energy healing, massage therapy, nature walks and nutrition guidance in a holistic wellness program set within tranquil mountain landscapes.

The Yukon - Northern lights and wilderness restoration

At Northern Lights Resort & Spa near Whitehorse, travellers combine restorative spa experiences with opportunities to view the aurora borealis, unwinding in Finnish and infrared saunas, outdoor Jacuzzis and glass-fronted chalets designed for immersive views of the northern wilderness.

Nearby, Eclipse Nordic Hot Springs offers a striking counterpoint - multiple outdoor soaking pools heated by natural geothermal activity to around 40°C, framed by boulders, saunas and fire pits. After a day of winter adventure, easing into steaming mineral-rich waters beneath a snow-dusted sky is an experience that stays with you.

Both sit alongside Indigenous-led cultural experiences connecting travellers to First Nations traditions, stories and perspectives on the land and sky that have shaped Yukon life for generations.

Manitoba Wildlife immersion on the Arctic tundra

For a truly singular wellness encounter, Churchill on the shores of Hudson Bay offers something found nowhere else on earth. Churchill Wild operates three luxury wilderness ecolodges directly along the polar bears' migration path on the Hudson Bay coast - including two National Geographic Unique Lodges of the World where guests encounter polar bears, wolves and Arctic fox on foot at ground level, guided through one of the planet's most remote and humbling landscapes. In summer, thousands of beluga whales congregate in the waters of the Churchill River. In winter, the aurora unfolds overhead. These are experiences measured not in activity but in perspective and they stay with you long after you leave.

Québec - Nordic spa culture

Québec has become synonymous with Canada's thriving Nordic spa culture, where visitors move through traditional hot-cold-rest hydrotherapy circuits in outdoor environments surrounded by lakes and forests.

In Québec City, Le Monastère des Augustines offers wellness retreats within a restored historic monastery that has supported mind-body healing for nearly four centuries, with programs focused on rest, mindfulness, nutrition and reflection.

In the Eastern Townships, Spa Eastman offers hiking trails, Nordic baths, wellness cuisine and holistic health programs, while BALNEA Spa + réserve thermale provides lakeside thermal experiences across a 161-hectare nature reserve where guests alternate between thermal baths, lakeside yoga and forest walks.

Ontario - Forest retreats and slow nature immersion

In Ontario, wellness travel increasingly centres on quiet forest environments and slow travel experiences.

Arcana offers architect-designed cabins hidden within maple and birch forests north of Toronto, allowing guests to disconnect from digital life and reconnect with nature through walking trails, sauna sessions and herbal tea rituals.

At Grail Springs Retreat Centre for Wellbeing, visitors participate in meditation, sound therapy, nature immersion and holistic treatments centred around Chalice Lake, whose naturally alkaline water has long been associated with healing properties.

For travellers seeking a softer introduction to wilderness, Whispering Springs Wilderness Retreat offers luxury glamping with yoga sessions, spa amenities, forest trails and spring-fed ponds in Northumberland County.

Slow Travel as Wellness

Multi-day rail journeys with Rocky Mountaineer and VIA Rail offer a different kind of restoration - moving unhurried through mountain ranges, prairie grasslands and boreal forest, with space to reflect and reconnect with nature at a pace the world rarely allows anymore.

The Space to Slow Down

Canada offers something increasingly rare, room to breathe, and space to be genuinely present. Whether joining an Indigenous Elder on a healing plant walk through ancient boreal forest, kayaking in silence alongside orcas off the coast of Haida Gwaii, watching polar bears move across the Arctic tundra, or easing into a thermal pool as the aurora unfolds across a Yukon sky - these are not experiences that can be manufactured or replicated elsewhere. Canada's landscapes, cultures and living wilderness don't just frame the wellness experience. They are the wellness experience.

ENDS

For more information contact:
Janaya Birse

Director, Media Relations

Destination Canada Australia GSA
Mobile: 0415 304 487
Email: janaya@jkingassociates.com

About Destination Canada

At Destination Canada, we believe that tourism enhances the wealth and wellbeing of Canadians and enriches the lives of visitors. Our mission is to influence supply and build demand for the benefit of locals, communities and visitors through leading research, alignment with public and private sectors, and marketing Canada nationally and abroad.

Knowing that diversity is our greatest asset, we promote Canada as a premier four-season leisure and business tourism destination around the country and world in Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Japan, Mexico, South Korea, United Kingdom and the United States.

In addition, our Business Events team leverage in-depth global market analysis to target international clusters aligned with Canada's priority economic sectors.

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