Omtrips

Omtrips Weekly · #1 · Tuesday 25 August 2026

Omtrips Weekly #1: Australia's wellness surge, Oregon's psilocybin report card, and Aman's Mexican debut

Every kind of wellness escape, and everything happening around it: retreats, plant medicine research, new stays, and the news that moves the map. Curated weekly.

The Big Story

Australia is now the world's second fastest-growing wellness destination: ahead of Bali

Time Out Australia14 Aug 2026

BookRetreats' State of Retreats 2026 report puts Australia second only to the Philippines for wellness-travel growth, with search interest in Australian retreats up 255% year on year and more than 4,700 wellness experiences now on offer, while long-reigning Indonesia slides to 11th. The surge is driven by nature-first formats: surf-and-sound-bath combos, stargazing stays, thermal bathing and farm retreats. If you host retreats in Australia, the world is searching for you right now, and if you're booking one, a world-class reset no longer needs a long-haul flight.

Retreats

Babymoons go full wellness at Da Nang's TIA Wellness Resort

Travel Monitor3 Aug 2026

Vietnam's TIA Wellness Resort has launched a dedicated babymoon retreat for expectant couples: three nights in a pool villa with 80 minutes of pregnancy-safe treatments per night, private yoga and breathwork, and a candlelit beach dinner, from US$1,700 for two. A sharp read on an underserved niche: retreats designed around a life moment rather than a fitness goal.

Kamalaya unveils its Asian Bliss program on Koh Samui

The Wellness Travel ExpertJul 2026

Koh Samui stalwart Kamalaya has a new relaxation-focused Asian Bliss program and an Island Wellness Escape offer running through October, while Switzerland's Chenot Palace Weggis folds complimentary aesthetic-tech treatments into its programs until 31 August. Heritage healing retreats and med-tech spas are courting the same guest.

India's longevity boom gets a 270-acre flagship outside Delhi

MediaBrief22 Jul 2026

The Wellness Co. has opened a diagnostics-led longevity retreat across 270 lakeside acres in Gurugram: 55 villas, full health assessments on arrival, and tracks for executive burnout, metabolic health, sleep and women's wellness. A confident marker of India's rise as a serious retreat destination, not just a source market.

Plant Medicine & Psychedelic Research

Oregon's legal psilocybin experiment gets its first report card: and it's strong

OPB19 Aug 2026

More than 20,000 people have now used legal psilocybin at Oregon's licensed service centers, and OHSU's first rigorous study found depression, anxiety and PTSD symptoms dropped by around 70%, with only 1% reporting serious negative effects. Over half ranked their session among the most meaningful experiences of their lives: early validation of the supervised, state-regulated model drawing wellness travelers to Oregon.

60 Minutes follows nine veterans to a Mexican psychedelic retreat

CBS News16 Aug 2026

CBS revisits nine US veterans with PTSD who attended a week-long Heroic Hearts Project retreat near Puerto Vallarta with supervised psilocybin and 5-MeO-DMT ceremonies. Nearly a year on, eight of nine report dramatically improved symptoms: though one participant's difficult experience is an honest reminder that screening and support matter.

The VA goes big: 240 veterans, five medical centers, one landmark psilocybin trial

Military Times6 Aug 2026

The US Department of Veterans Affairs has launched PIVOT, a double-blind randomized trial of psilocybin-assisted therapy for at least 240 veterans with treatment-resistant depression, running through 2031 across five medical centers. One of the largest government-backed psychedelic studies ever mounted.

The FDA opens the floor: public hearing set on therapeutic psychedelics

US FDAhearing 14 Sep 2026

The FDA has scheduled a September 14 public hearing on how psychedelic drug products should be used therapeutically “in supervised and supportive settings”, regulatory language that speaks directly to the retreat and guided-session model. Written comments are open through October 5.

New Stays

Aman lands in Mexico: Amanvari opens on Baja's wild East Cape

Sleeper4 Aug 2026

Aman's first Mexican resort is open at Costa Palmas: just 18 waterfront casitas, each with a private heated pool, orbiting an Aman Spa with the brand's first-ever contemporary temazcal, plus banya, hammam and yoga pavilion. A masterclass in how small a world-class wellness resort can be.

Avani checks into Queenstown: lakeside wellness in the adventure capital

Minor Hotels5 Aug 2026

Minor Hotels is transforming the former Oaks Shores Resort on Lake Wakatipu into Avani Queenstown, opening September 2026 with AvaniSpa and AvaniFit concepts, recovery-focused wellness in a town built on adrenaline. Trans-Tasman resort towns are getting serious lifestyle-brand investment.

Singapore's first resort-style co-living hotel opens by Changi

TTG Asia23 Jul 2026

Coliwoo Resort Changi lands on former holiday-chalet grounds: 380 studios and maisonettes billed as Singapore's first resort-style co-living hotel, with dual pools, jacuzzi and sports facilities ten minutes from the airport. Co-living is officially graduating from city apartments to full resort mode.

Co-living is where co-working was a decade ago: and that's the opportunity

Allwork.Space11 Aug 2026

Fresh analysis argues co-living is tracing co-working's maturation curve roughly ten years behind, with Europe now counting nearly 400 active spaces across 160+ cities. Post-Selina, the winners are the ones selling what remote workers actually crave: community, not just a desk and a bed.

Industry & Destinations

Saudi Arabia's $13.6 billion wellness coast comes to life as Amaala opens

Spa Business20 Aug 2026

Red Sea Global's Amaala is now genuinely open, with Four Seasons, Six Senses and Rosewood already welcoming guests and six more brands following by year's end: nine properties, each with a distinct wellness identity. The boldest attempt yet to build an entire destination around wellbeing from scratch.

America's spa industry clears $23.5 billion as visits roar back

Spa Business / ISPA22 Jul 2026

ISPA's 2026 study shows US spa revenue climbing $1 billion to $23.5 billion, with 191 million visits in 2025, a whisker from the all-time peak. The catch: one in three operators names staffing as their biggest headache. Demand is thriving; talent is the bottleneck.

Steam meets stagecraft: the Edinburgh Fringe debuts an 80-seat sauna theatre

Spa Business17 Aug 2026

A 90 sq m, 80-person sauna in Summerhall's car park is running nine sessions a day at the Fringe: aufguss rituals, DJ-led raves and literary salons at 87°C, with 26 international sauna masters performing under West End-calibre lighting. Heat culture just crashed the world's biggest arts festival.

Get Omtrips Weekly in your inbox.

The latest in retreats, mind-body research, and new boutique destinations, weekly to your inbox. No spam ever.