Right now — for good reason — the coronavirus is all anyone can talk about. Just walking around my neighborhood in Munich, Germany, I can feel the nervous energy, as people stockpile cans of beans and loaves of bread, and stores run out of hand soap and paper towels.
In the luxury and wellness travel space, there’s a lot to be anxious about. Just this week, luxury travel agency group Virtuoso postponed its annual symposium in Vienna, and the U.S. is expected to see a 6 percent drop in inbound travel over the next three months. Even SoulCycle announced it would honor late cancellations for customers not feeling well. There will likely be fewer people booking wellness retreats during this time, especially if there’s a known outbreak nearby — because it’s kind of hard to unwind if you’re worried about the person coughing next to you in yoga class. And luxury travelers will probably postpone trips if they know there’s a risk where they’re going.
