British consumers enjoyed a total of 205,000 health and wellness holidays last year alone and spent an estimated £135m (197m euro, US$269m), according to new research from Mintel.

Researchers have also predicted that the annual spend on wellness holidays could be set to increase from that £135m by as much as 150 per cent by 2011.

Senior travel analyst at Mintel, Richard Cope, said: “It seems many British tourists are developing a taste for a holiday with a difference. Although this is a niche market, health and wellness holidays are steadily growing into a high-value business, with the average cost of a trip well in excess of the holiday market norms.

“This market is fuelled by those looking to escape the pressures of a culture of long working hours and what some operators see as an urge to retreat from the debilitating effects of the consumer society.”

In its research, Mintel defined health and wellness holidays as including spa visits, fitness, mental and physical relaxation, medical treatments, beauty treatments, surgical recuperation, mineral and thermal baths and health farms.