Sustainable, Lifelong Happiness

Holidays will increasingly be purpose-driven and less about pure relaxation, says Banyan Tree Group's Renyung Ho, who talks to Yanni Tan about her company's desire to help travellers achieve sustainable, lifelong happiness.

Just as you're reading this, homegrown luxury hospitality company Banyan Tree Group's Buahan, A Banyan Tree Escape in Bali would have just opened. The property is the flagship of the company's post-pandemic brand extension Escape. It joins Banyan Tree Veya Phuket, which debuted this March under yet another new brand named Veya, as two of the group's latest offerings centred on mindfulness and well-being.

Veya Phuket is situated in the expansive grounds of Banyan Tree at Laguna Phuket - where the pioneering brand was first launched 28 years ago after founders Ho Kwon Ping and Claire Chiang came across a plot of wasteland that was formerly a tin mine and subsequently embarked on an extensive habitat regeneration programme. Buahan is built on a piece of land owned by the group for over 20 years, in an off-the-beaten-track, untouched part of northern Ubud, Bali.

It seems that the Covid-19 pandemic did not slow things down at Banyan Tree Group, but instead only served to strengthen its will in bringing holistic travel experiences to a world in urgent need to reconnect the mind, body, and soul. Both new brands are initiatives under Banyan Tree's Wellbeing Sanctuary (BTWS) concept that was actually conceived just before the pandemic but rolled out nonetheless.

This new concept enables travellers to design and combine a leisure vacation with well-being elements in a flexible and open way. Guests are invited to personalise their stay through a simple, structured, and codified approach of eight well-being pillars proprietary to the group. Through it, they can create a personal practice to sustain even after returning home.