The boom of sleep tourism Sleep tourism is a comforting concept we can all relate to, but, truth be told, it hides a more sinister issue: we’ re all exhausted.“ To put it simply, we’ re not getting enough sleep,” Olivia Arezzolo, Australia’ s leading sleep expert and keynote speaker, shares.“ A global study has found that, on average, Aussies sleep 6.2 hours; Brits 6.4 hours; and those in the US, 5.8 hours. The minimum requirement for sleep is seven hours, meaning that the average person in each of these countries is sleep-deprived. This also means that the average person is also experiencing the consequences of sleep deprivation.”“ Sleep deprivation can cause major chaos. For example, the stress hormone cortisol, which contributes to anxiety and depression, increases by 37 %; our risk of catching a cold increases by four times; and we are more likely to experience memory loss, brain fog and, of course, fatigue. All of these factors come into play after just one night of insufficient sleep.”

of employees say they are currently burned out

Source: Spring Health’ s 2026 benchmarking research

Lindsay adds:“ In recent years, there has been a great deal of information in the media about the benefits of sleep and the importance of wellbeing. Therefore, people are much more willing to invest time and money to improve their sleep quality and quantity as they know how important sleep is.” And big corporations have cottoned on to this trend, with Amanda Al-Masri, Global Vice President of Wellness for Hilton, explaining the hotel giant has“ seen a heightened desire from travellers to relax while on the road.” This isn’ t just for those who are in the C-suite, either; as a recent report from Hilton found that regardless of generation, the top reason people want to travel is to rest and recharge. This has therefore“ blurred the lines between business and leisure travel,” as no matter their occupation, Hilton found that“ all travellers rally around the universal appreciation for sleep”.“ There are endless factors that can affect a guest’ s sleep experience. While we can’ t control all of them, we are committed to helping where we can,” Amanda explains.“ For instance, guests look to us to match the right mattress, pillow and bedding together to create the most universally comfortable experience possible – and so, every day, we have entire teams focused on those products and partners to make sure we are delivering an exceptional experience to every guest, every time.” businesschief. com

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