Sportcations trend cycling, diving, wellness

Trip.com Group said on Aug. 30 that active-travel “sportcations” are gaining ground, with cycling trips, diving camps and wellness retreats helping lift active-travel booking gross merchandise value by 40%. The company said searches for active sports experiences rose more than 30% year over year, with particularly strong gains in Singapore, Malaysia and the United Kingdom. Separate research published by the University of Georgia in August found social media is influencing travel planning across age groups, with millennials the most affected. Together, the data points help explain why travel posts over the past day have clustered around bike routes, dive itineraries and spa-led getaways. ### Where is the “sportcation” label coming from? Trip.com Group used the term in a news release dated Aug. 30, describing active travel as “the next big travel trend.” The company tied the category to trips built around participation rather than sightseeing alone, citing examples including mountain cycling, diving camps and wellness retreats. (breakingtravelnews.com) 4Hoteliers and TTR Weekly, which both carried the announcement on Sept. 1, said the shift is visible across the booking journey, not just in final purchases. Their reports said searches for active sports experiences were up more than 30% from a year earlier, with France, Italy, Germany and Spain all posting triple-digit growth. ### Why are cycling, diving and wellness showing up together? (breakingtravelnews.com) Trip.com Group grouped those activities together as examples of travel built around outdoor activity and structured experiences. The company said travelers are increasingly choosing itineraries that combine movement, skills-based activities or recovery-focused stays with the trip itself. (4hoteliers.com) The examples matter because they sit across different price points and formats. Cycling can mean mapped road or mountain routes, diving can mean destination-led camps, and wellness can extend from retreat programming to spa bookings. The common thread in Trip.com’s description is that the activity is the reason for travel, not an add-on. ### What does the University of Georgia research add? (breakingtravelnews.com) The University of Georgia said on Aug. 5 that new research published in *Current Issues in Tourism* found social media could influence people’s travel plans, and that millennials were the most impacted group in the study. UGA said travelers were responding not only to destination imagery but also to the prospect of positive engagement on their own posts. (4hoteliers.com) Phys.org, summarizing the same study, said people may post vacation photos and videos not just to update friends and family but because they value the likes and comments those posts attract. WSB-TV, citing the university’s findings, said millennials and Gen Z looked for “unique” places to travel to based in part on expected engagement. ### Why does that matter for this week’s travel chatter? (news.uga.edu) X posts highlighted in the social briefing pointed to “sportcations” as an emerging travel theme and separately circulated the University of Georgia findings on social-media-driven trip planning. That pairing helps explain why recent posts have emphasized visually legible activities such as scenic cycling routes, dive excursions and wellness stays that translate easily into photos and short-form video. (phys.org) The available public data does not show a platform-wide count for those posts, and neither Trip.com nor UGA tied their findings directly to one another. But the timing is close: the travel-trend reports were published between Aug. 30 and Sept. 1, while the UGA study was released Aug. 5 and continued circulating this week through social posts. ### What should readers watch next? (news.uga.edu) Trip.com Group’s next updates on booking trends will show whether the 40% increase in active-travel GMV holds beyond the late-summer period. The University of Georgia study is already available through the university’s Aug. 5 release and the journal *Current Issues in Tourism*, where readers can track the underlying methodology and findings. (breakingtravelnews.com) (4hoteliers.com)