Curious, wealthy and often lonely, the ‘progressive nomad’ is seeking enlightenment (in addition to the hotel spa)

Kate Spicer — Tue, 01 Nov 2022 01:00:57 +0000

Harvest Kaplankaya, a twice-yearly festival at a community of hotels and villas on the Aegean coast, is a bold proposition. Modelled as a blend of Burning Man and the World Economic Forum, the event weaves together talks and debates with healing sessions, music, dancing and lively candlelit dinners for more than 200 guests. Since its launch in 2018, guest speakers have included ethnobotanist Wade Davis, the Hungarian-Canadian physician and trauma specialist Gabor Maté and Camilla Fayed, a socialite turned vegan activist. Tickets, with accommodation, start at €3,918 and guests jet in from all over the world. This October’s event was its sixth and, like previous incarnations, was sold out.

According to Harvest co-founders Burak Öymen and Roman Carel, the festival’s mission is to lure a new travel crowd, for whom shared experience, big ideas, conscious living and personal growth are central. Call them the progressive or proactive nomads (or promads), a new tier of traveller for whom intellectual growth and community must be as much a part of the experience as a Michelin-starred chef and an award-winning spa.

“We are moving from an experience economy to a transformation economy,” says Chris Sanderson, co-founder of strategic foresight consultancy The Future Laboratory. “It’s not about a holiday where you fall to pieces and relax, eat and drink. It’s not about an experience in isolation – it’s being part of a temporary community.”

“The big brands know that in the future people will turn to them for community,” says Ben Pundole, hospitality consultant for brands such as Six Senses and founder of travel platform A Hotel Life. “But will they have the sensitivity and emotion required to make it feel authentic?”

More and more people are seeking places like these, says Sabine Heller, CCO of Sollis Health, a US medical start-up, who has made a career of running businesses that sit at the intersection of community and luxury commerce. Recently, she hosted an event at Etéreo, a hotel on the Yucatán peninsula, with 25 women aged from 30 to 60. Discussions included the reversal of Roe v Wade, there was a talk on stress and gut health and a sound bath was held. There was also yoga, snorkelling and a shamanic blessing. “There were moments of anger, vulnerability and connection mixed with much-needed respite and restoration in a breathtaking location,” says Heller. Reflecting on its success, she says, “After the pandemic people have come back seeking answers not canapés.”

All this can sound excessively earnest, but, says Pundole, travel’s new transformative focus “doesn’t need to be holier than thou. Doing good and having fun are not mutually exclusive”. Habitas is best known for its fantastic parties. There are even morning gatherings for dancing in the sand. In a polarised world of uncertainty, coming together is, it seems, the greatest luxury.

This story originally appeared on: Financial Times - Author:Kate Spicer

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Curious, wealthy and often lonely, the ‘progressive nomad’ is seeking enlightenment (in addition to the hotel spa)