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Biohacking, Neuro-wellness, and Slow Travel

  • 3 days ago
  • 16 min read
Woman in a white robe relaxes on a reclined chair in a spa with plants. Large round machine and IV stand nearby. Scenic landscape view.
Image Source: AI-generated via Gemini

In this episode of Signal Shift, Raakhee interviews London-based veteran travel journalist Angelina Villa-Clarke to explore the intersection of the $2 trillion global wellness industry and the future of wellness travel. Angelina has contributed to prestigious outlets like Forbes, Condé Nast Traveler, and The Independent. The conversation explores the rapidly growing $2 trillion global wellness industry and how travel is shifting toward longevity, mental health, and "perfect imperfection". The discussion highlights how the post-pandemic era has sparked a "seismic shift" in traveler priorities, moving from superficial spa treatments to deep, science-backed longevity and ancient restorative practices.




Where to Find Angelina Villa-Clarke:



The Evolution of Wellness Travel

Angelina notes a "seismic shift" in travel since the pandemic, with wellness becoming intrinsic to the travel experience rather than a luxury add-on.

  • Beyond the Spa: Wellness has evolved from simple massages and facials to a dual approach: high-tech science and biohacking on one side, and ancient ancestral therapies on the other.

  • Slow Travel and "Wabi-Sabi": Luxury is moving away from formal "white glove" service toward organic, meaningful experiences—like foraging with a chef or dining under the stars—embracing the Japanese notion of wabi-sabi (perfect imperfection).

  • Agritourism: There is a growing desire for "back-to-basics" experiences where travelers visit farms to see how food is cultivated.


Case Studies in Modern Wellness

Angelina highlights two standout locations that exemplify these trends:

  • Raksa (Bangkok): A nature-reserve retreat designed around biophilic principles and circadian rhythms to optimize sleep. It integrates three hubs: traditional Ayurvedic/Thai medicine, high-tech medical treatments (hyperbaric chambers, IV therapy), and advanced fitness assessments.

  • Kintsugi (Abu Dhabi): An urban day spa focused on longevity and prevention, utilizing a residential townhouse setting to offer vegan nutrition and cutting edge therapies.


Neuro-Wellness and Brain Health

A significant emerging trend is "neuro-wellness," which focuses on cognitive health and the prevention of degenerative diseases.

  • Dementia Prevention: Facilities now offer scans to assess the likelihood of developing Alzheimer's or dementia, as early detection can allow for delay or prevention.

  • Impulse Tech: Angelina describes "rebalance impulse tech" used at Remedy in London—a therapy involving specialized beds and audio that works at a cellular level to de-stress the brain.

  • The Sleep Industry: "Sleep retreats" are becoming popular to help travelers overcome hormonal imbalances or poor habits, even if it involves the irony of traveling halfway around the world while jet-lagged to learn how to sleep.



Longevity and the "Silver Traveler"

The drive for regeneration is fueling intense interest in longevity, particularly as the global population ages.

  • Active Aging: The "silver traveler" demographic is more active and adventurous than previous generations, leading to new itineraries in industries like cruising.

  • Intense Therapies: While controversial and often unregulated, interest is rising in extreme treatments such as stem cell therapy and plasma replacement.


The "Back Home" Ethos

Angelina emphasizes that the most critical part of modern wellness travel is the integrative approach—learning how to maintain these health gains once you return to daily life. New openings, such as Tula in Kerala, require minimum seven-day stays to ensure travelers learn bespoke practices they can implement at home.


*Disclaimer: The text (above) is AI generated from our original video podcast - please see below for the full transcript and references (if applicable).


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Episode Transcript:

Raakhee: (00:00)

Hello and welcome to Signal Shift. today we are going to be speaking about two of my favorite subjects, is wellness and travel. Our guest today is Angelina Villa-Clarke.


Angelina is a travel journalist based in London. She has over 30 years of experience as a journalist, has visited 60 plus countries and has contributed to some of the biggest names in media, such as Forbes, The Independent, Evening Standard, Condé Nast Traveler and more. She began her career at Marie Claire and found herself moving into travel writing for In Britain, the magazine for the British Tourist Authority, and then British Airways and eventually for many of the biggest media outlets as a freelancer. Now, wellness today is a two trillion global industry, says McKinsey. Angelina actually authored the Forbes Wellness Report in 2025, which stated that according to the Global Wellness Institute, wellness trips have grown by 30.2 % annually From 2020 to 2022.


Angelina has a lens on and deeper insights about wellness travel, where it's headed what's happening with longevity, with brain health, and topics we often touch on. So for those of us looking in from the outside, a travel journalist's life seems equally adventurous as it is on trend. So today, we want to learn more about what Angelina's travels are saying about the future of wellness travel and just other travel trends.


Welcome Angelina, we are so thrilled to be speaking with you today. Thank you.


Angelina: (01:39)

Thanks for that lovely intro and thanks for having me. Interestingly, I think I've definitely progressively written more about wellness since the pandemic, which I think saw sort of a seismic shift in people's thinking. So yes, I have been a travel journalist for many years and I think the biggest sort of changes that I've seen have been probably the last five years in the wellness sector which is now really intrinsic to travel and you can't really have one without the other in some aspects.


Raakhee: (02:13)

I think it's fascinating, you COVID, of course it was a big immediate impact, but it was really just almost a cultural defining moment since then, you know, for us in so many ways, right, whether it's work and travel,


Angelina: (02:28)

I think there's nothing like it in our generation that everyone in the world is going through the same thing, whether you live in a tiny village or a skyscraper. But I guess the ups, while there were many negatives and awful things that happened, I guess there was a growing awareness of things like mental health and things like a yearning to be in nature, both of those sort of topics have influenced the wellness industry and what people want to get from travel


Raakhee: (03:05)

When we do think about health, you kind of go to physical health immediately and you're sort of thinking about that. And I do picture at a holiday kind of, OK, there'll be a pickleball court or people are playing tennis or you're swimming. But there's the other side of it, which I think is critical that you spoke to, which is the mental health. And I'm envisioning more of kind of sound baths or meditation and so yeah, what are people doing to focus on the mental health in that realm?


Angelina: (03:33)

Yeah,


One good place to start is wellness in the past and also sort of luxury wellness. It used to be literally used to be in most places going to a spa and having a facial or a massage. And now that's definitely changed And there are two aspects to that. One is sort of tapping into science and new tech around that. And the other is actually turning back to ancient wellness and ancient therapies that our ancestors would have done. Linked in with that is this notion of nature and sort of going back to basics, a lot of places now offer therapies, for instance, within their gardens or their estate or they take you out into nature. there was actually a report by the Global Wellness Institute that showed that going out for an hour a day in your life adds some X amount of years onto your lifespan. So that also also taps into this sort of topic of longevity, which is a massive buzzword.


So a lot of mindful practices, learning how to meditate, learning to switch off. We're also we spend so much time on our gadgets and screens. And it is addictive and that can lead to things like burnout and exhaustion.


Raakhee: (04:51)

I know agritourism is also so big kind of speaking about nature and, you know, people wanting to go onto farms and see how people actually farm and cultivate food and produce. you know, it's fascinating. coming back to that storyline again, we are wanting to go back to basics.


You know, like you spoke about, it's these digital interfaces changing the nature of who we are. And I think we're craving that question, like, well, who are we as humans and how are meant to take up space.


Angelina: (05:20)

There's this notion of slow travel, which obviously slow food originated in Italy.


So it's no longer the formal starched tablecloths and white glove service that people think of when they want luxury. It's more about those experiences you can't necessarily buy. And that literally might mean, yes, it is an expensive wine you're tasting, but you're tasting it in a beautiful field, in a rural setting with the grower that's sort of only got 10 cases of this particular wine.


You wouldn't be able to find where you live. And it's sort of simplifying a lifestyle, but also a tier of elevation about it. So as I said, it is a luxury wine tasting, but it's in maybe a rural setting or a beautiful sort of garden, or under the stars, dining under the stars. These type of things are what luxury is turning to now.


Raakhee: (06:22)

We almost reached that peak of the fine dining, perfection of Instagram and you know with aesthetics and and now kind of You know, we're shifting away from that and wanting more organic things and more natural things and a naturalness. see that. Yeah


Angelina: (06:38)

Yeah,


I think it's like a, it's a, that sort of Japanese notion of wabi-sabi, the perfect imperfection. it's about storytelling. It's about finding people and places that, you know, before it would have been, I went to this very posh restaurant and I had seven courses and everything was exacting. And that's sort of, people are sort of, it's somehow not relaxing. And I think people want to come home and say, I had the most amazing meal and it it was the family recipe. And also they showed us how to cook it the next day. Or we went foraging with the chef in the morning or fishing, you know, all these sort of hands on experiences and cultural experiences are important.


So I've written a series of trends reports for Forbes, probably for the past six or seven years. And so when you do that and you talk to all these brands, you're really sort of close to what is happening. And that luxury shift has gone from very formalized, very tangible things, almost the intangible. when I started these trends reports, only one or two people were even sort of thinking ahead. But this year, I think every single major tour operator and company issued a trends report. And I think there's this awareness that people are looking ahead and people want the new, but it has to have grounding and meaning.


Raakhee: (08:06)

You must have experienced and gotten to experience so many amazing places. And I'm sure wellness experiences and resorts and yeah, I mean, which ones stick out to you? Is there something really extraordinary that you have experienced?


Angelina: (08:22)

Yeah, there's two. There's one that I went to last year called Raksa, which is in Bangkok. It is very well regarded in the wellness industry. But it was just outside the city. It's called the Green Lung of the city. So it's actually on a nature reserve. But from it, you can see the skyscrapers of the city. It is quite close. It's like a 40-minute drive.


What's interesting about it is that there's basically three main hubs. you, you, you sort of your suite is a standalone little villa. Everyone has one and it's all been designed around biophilic principles. It's all natural materials. It's all designed around circadian rhythms. So it's all about sort of optimizing your sleep and your rest.


The details are exceptional. So they even have tiny covers for the air conditioning lights. And when they come into your turndown service, they cover those so that your room is totally dark.


There is three hubs and one is all about traditional therapies. So it's sort of Chinese medicine, Ayurvedic therapies, Thai massages, nurturing treatments. And then there's another building and that's So it might be hyperbaric oxygen chamber,


You might have infrared therapy. You'll see a doctor and he might prescribe an IV treatment. That's all in that building. And then there's a fitness, it looks like a gym, but it's all sort of, again, at the cutting edge equipment's sort of the best of the best. And you have an assessment, and it's very simple assessment. They check your gait. They check how you walk.


They do a few weights So when you get there, you meet different doctors and they get an itinerary that's that basically covers all the disciplines. So you're sort of tapping into amazing nurturing therapies And then, you know, two hours later, you might be seeing somebody because they've detected, you know, have blood tests. So they might detect something in your blood that needs particular therapy or


And then the food, the food is also amazing. It's all super, super healthy, but you would never know it. Every meal is a three course meal. Lunch is all Thai based and the evening meals are all Mediterranean. But you you're having like lovely soups. The bread is all gluten free, but it's like made with sweet potato or vegetables or it's really inventive.


And also most people are there alone.


So yeah, it was all very, very catered to each individual. And then the other place was kintsugi, it's called, which kintsugi in Japanese means, you know, if you've got a broken piece of pottery, they fix it with gold. So it sort of became this notion of the imperfection in life. And it's a day spa, although they've just announced actually that they're going to add accommodation this year. it's run by two very well-known women in the industry. And the building's pink. It's in downtown.


So it's actually in a residential area, but it sticks out. It's got a gold sort of design through the outside of the building. And it's like a townhouse. I think there's about six floors, it's very beautifully designed, so everything about it is sort of very well thought out and it's all vegan food. And that was about sort of looking at longevity and prevention, But those two stick out, yeah.


Raakhee: (12:16)

Points I want to of touch on both. I think the first one, this it's so I mean, it's something that I observed. And I think you echoed it back in your experience. But we wanting both these things, we want the high tech, the high end. And then we want the completely traditional, ancient, organic Ayurvedic.


And we kind of want, I guess, the best of both worlds. I just wondered, and I know so much about health now is collecting health data and data and data and data. when it comes to the tech side of it, there's some aspect of that work against really what traditional principles are saying in the sense that if I have


Angelina: (12:44)

Yeah.


Raakhee: (13:03)

The smart watch that is alerting me every time, you my pressure's up or my heart rate, you know, does it create a sense of anxiety in how we live? Like, are we at a point of also maybe too much health data, too much of that?


Angelina: (13:16)

Yeah, it's a really good point, actually, because on the one hand, we are continuously told to switch off, de-stress, yet there is a lot of information out there that can be overwhelming. I I think everyone has to sort of try and navigate that as best as they can. But, you know, especially working in the space, you can literally be taking all these different supplements and doing all these different treatments and it's sort of sometimes counterintuitive. In fact it's a really good point because at Kintsugi they wanted to showcase everything obviously, I'm writing about it and it's amazing and I'm super grateful always. But you can almost have too much of a good thing because you can become over, you can almost become overstimulated by too much touch. So sometimes less is definitely more.


But I think the best places are those that have an integrative approach to it all. I am actually about to go to a new opening in Kerala in India. It has just opened this month. It's called Tula and it's a hundred million US opening.


It's being broached as the best in its field and its thinking is exactly that. you get there and it's 48 hours of testing before you even start. You have to stay a minimum of seven days because it's, again, extremely bespoke, but they have got all traditional healers and wellness people, but also all the tech that you would want. So it completely depends on what you are looking for as a person. their big thing is when you go home is to learn what to do when you're at home, So they're like, yes, you probably will feel great being here. We want you to feel great when you're at home.


So it's...it's good because there is definitely a world of two halves at the minute. There's this sort of science biohacking going on and then this yearning for something authentic which is why people are turning to the traditional and these ancient therapies that we sort of are going back to that our ancestors would have used.


Raakhee: (15:40)

The other question that I had, which is more, think, like the second place you spoke about and that you mentioned this thread throughout, I think this big focus with people like Bryan Johnson, his whole Don't Die movement. And we've spoken about that. And so, honestly, I would have considered really extreme two years ago, like blood plasma exchanges becoming relatively common now, right? Like people talk about and take part in these therapies and what have you seen sort of again with this drive for regeneration and longevity? What are some of like the really out there intense therapies that people are doing or you've seen or heard of?


Angelina: (16:21)

Mean, there's obviously the whole, you know, the stem cell therapies, which are not regulated. There's all that going on. And there's things like plasma replacement. in the Bangkok in Raksa, you can have a lot of that sort of, I sort of shied away from it because I just don't know whether that's for me really.


We want to remain sharp we want to be more active


I think it's by 2031 in six people will be over 16 on the planet. So people are tapping into that. That's like big business, right?


People of 60 plus are much more active than they are 10 years ago, 15 years ago. So that is driving whole new itineraries and activities because the cruise industry, for instance, is traditionally older and is aimed at maybe retired people


They are more active. They do want more challenges. They want more adventurous travel. yeah, this thing around aging and they call it sort silver traveler has an impact everywhere.


And there are definitely specific clinics springing up because SixSense is in Ibiza. They have got their spa called Rose Bar and it's all about longevity,


Raakhee: (17:37)

I think the other thing that's really interesting that I'm seeing in and it's been a trend. and that's where neuroscience gets brought into different fields


And now I'm picking up in the last year or two this concept of neuro wellness, right? And neuro tourism and focusing on things are also good for the brain. And I know in your report you spoke about, I hope I'm pronouncing it right, but a company called Viavi or Vi-a-vi. And I'd love to know.


Like, you know, a little bit about, you know, what you know about, guess, them or just what you're seeing with the trends with neuro wellness and this focus on brain health and some of the tools and gadgets there.


Angelina: (18:17)

You can now have a scan or some kind of scan in which it tells you the likelihood of where you are at the minute of developing diseases like dementia or Alzheimer's. because at different stages, it is preventable or you can delay it.


And I think the stats around that are quite shocking. is a very high percentage of people are likely to dementia.


One in 14 people over 65 are estimated to develop Alzheimer's, one in six over 80, and roughly 33 % of those 85 and older. globally, it's the most common cause of dementia, Alzheimer's making up.


60 to 80 % of cases. So I think there's that sort of fear about sort of how can we prevent this happening? Because it's like, you know, is it going to be likely to happen? And also it's, there's more coverage of it, isn't there? It's talked about more similar to menopause. know it's like sort of a esoteric to link those two, but just in terms of the industry that has arisen around, the wellness industry that's arisen around menopause and supplements.


I did go to a place, it's called Remedy in London, and they, this was more about sort of tapping into the neuroscience of de-stressing and just slowing down the brain. again, what we spoke to at the top of the conversation,


And it's called a rebalance impulse tech. And it's basically, it's a therapy for neuro relaxing. And it was like a bed that you lay on, you have earphones on. And it's quite strange sort of music, but it works on a deep, it goes sort of cellular, they say. And the bed, you cover yourself and the bed,


I mean, it has a cover on it, so it's quite light and it changes color. And you listen to this. Some of it's like a meditation exercise. You can choose different options, but it's, I thought that was really, different.


Raakhee: (20:28)

That sounds like a less intrusive poking in my brain.


Angelina: (20:33)

The other thing I was going to say with that is that the whole sleep industry, which is another sort of the whole notion of, you know, if you


If you can capture good sleep and harness that productive sleep, you know, you have so many health benefits. So again, there are all these sort of sleep programs and retreats. In fact, when I was at Bangkok, at Raksa, I did actually follow their sleep program. And one of the articles I wrote, not for Forbes, but for a newspaper was, is it ironic that I'm traveling halfway around the world?


Suffering from jet lag to do a sleep program but actually it's all you know it was all about sort of learning sort of good practices around sleep and working out why maybe you don't have sleep and is it hormonal imbalances it was very deep but yeah I did a sort of tongue-in-cheek thing about it


Raakhee: (21:30)

It's so true. It's just again, it's that it's the things that should be natural that we should have taken care of that we have started losing. You know, now we have to kind of go halfway across the world.


Angelina: (21:43)

I know. Yeah. And I was sort of on the plane thinking, I feel so, you know, I'm going to get there. I'm working out my time zones and thinking, this is a nightmare. I've almost missed a night's And then I'm going there to sleep. It's so ironic.


Raakhee: (21:55)

What I find really interesting is, which I think the new place you're going to see in Kerala kind of the ethos of you got to take it back home. You can learn about sleep, but yeah, you got to take that back home. You got to put the phone away. and it'll be so interesting to see how wellness places cater to that, to enabling that change for people once they go home, right?


Angelina: (22:17)

I'm really aware that I'm privileged that I can do all these amazing things because it's my job, but ordinarily I wouldn't be able to do that. So there's absolutely no point in spending lots of money going somewhere because you'd only be doing that if you've got a concern to do with your wellness or you really need that. And then coming home and falling into old habits.


Raakhee: (22:36)

Angelina, thank you so much for being here and sharing all your experiences. And I'm really curious for everybody listening. Have you been to any of these resorts? What have your experiences been or other places on your radar? Please do let us know in the comments. so great to have you Angelina.


Thank you for listening and we will see you again next week. Bye for now.

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