I’m not sure about you but I was shocked to learn that one in eight adult Americans have taken Ozempic or some other GLP-1 agonist (a class of medications used to treat type 2 diabetes and obesity). That’s about 31 million people!
OK, so what about it? What does that have to do with travel?
Well, according to a recent conversation I had with some folks at PricewaterhouseCoopers as well as some research shared by Embark Beyond, Ozempic may have a bigger effect on travel than we may first realize.
Will Foodie Tourism Plummet?
The first and most obvious effect is how people taking Ozempic consume food and beverages. “In our research, we see that they decrease their spending on beverages by 9 percent, they decrease spending on food by 11 percent [and] most of them stopped drinking alcohol altogether,” said PwC U.S. Consumer Markets Industry Leader Ali Furman.
In its 2025 “Luxe Report,” luxury travel agency network Virtuoso said that “Culinary experiences have become a crucial element of luxury travel, and globetrotters are prioritizing gastronomic discoveries that showcase the authentic local flavors and unique traditions of the places they visit.”
Could Ozempic change this trend? Here's what I could find...
In a special report of its own, Embark Beyond asked that with the proliferation of Americans taking Ozempic, “Will food still matter as much? How will the gluttonous travel trends of the early aughts—the hunt for the best croissant or chocolate chip cookie on Instagram—evolve? The Financial Times has asked if Ozempic is killing the joy of food, along with the obesity crisis.”
“Maybe. And maybe not,” it concluded.
Furman leans closer to the “maybe not” side: Whereas “salty, sugary snacks used to be a preference, people on these drugs now are interested in low-sugar, no-sugar, protein-rich and nutrient-dense snacks,” she said. “They didn't stop eating, but they just shifted their preferences.”
So, while it may change what types of food people are consuming—and albeit in smaller quantities than in the past—travelers’ search for authentic cuisines and culinary experiences likely will not abate solely due to GLP-1s. Sure, there could be some decreased visitation to vineyards or trips centered entirely around food, but there’s also an opportunity, Furman says, “for restaurants to partner with health organizations that can certify their menus as GLP-1-friendly” to attract these travelers.
Jack Ezon, founder of Embark Beyond, agrees, telling Luxury Travel Advisor that “people still like the hole-in-the-wall, local, fabulous authentic restaurant but just eating a lot less and much more protein-focused.”
Not Just Any Wellness Travel
Elsewhere in the travel space, Americans on GLP-1s are “much more interested in active and wellness-based travel,” says Furman. She adds that, similarly, there’s less emphasis on sedentary vacations (like the classic warm weather “fly and flop” trip) or vacations that focus on food and wine.”
And not only are these folks more likely to focus on wellness when traveling, they are looking for a specific type of wellness. “Forget extreme detoxes and punishing boot camps. The new wellness wave is all about preserving muscle, since weight-loss drugs can lead to muscle loss,” Embark said. “Expect a boom in Pilates, strength training and personal coaching—less focus on calorie restriction (Ozempic does that for you) and more on building strength and tone.”
Ozempic and similar drugs are succeeding in making people healthier, but not only that: with their weight loss, 15 percent of people surveyed by PwC said they feel more confident and happier than they used to. “And that has societal implications,” explains Furman. “They'll go out more, maybe they'll travel more, they might date more, get married more, maybe we'll see more kids in the future.”
Along these lines, Embark Beyond reports it has seen a 38 percent surge in private shopping and pre-travel stylizing requests, with this trend only accelerating. Noting that many people now need entirely new wardrobes, “the best personal shoppers all over the world … are now as coveted as a top travel concierge,” the report said.
Added Ezon: “People are defiantly going out more to have fun and show off their new look.”
Other Possible Impacts
One interesting way the Ozempic could impact travel is on aircraft fuel efficiency. With the average person weighing less than before the introduction of the drug class, there will be a lighter travel population, which could be a boon to airlines.
Really, there are lots of ways in which GLP-1s will change consumerism. And, when you consider that the drug is FDA-approved, is saving lives and that there's over 100 million obese Americans, the drug category “is moving toward becoming the standard of care for obesity treatment, which means that it will be prescribed more at a more affordable cost,” explained Furman. That means even more Americans and people globally will adopt the drug.
Even further, she told us that “weight loss drugs currently have a much higher barrier to entry [then other “disruptive technologies or businesses,” like Netflix, the iPhone and even Spotify], but the velocity that it's being adopted is actually faster than the iPhone.”
“So, if it continues, just think about how profound that can be—given all these significant changes in people's preferences once they go on that journey,” said Furman. “We just think this is a demographic that is likely to continue to grow, and they have very specific consumer preferences.”
In our conversation, Furman used these words but they sum up the possibilities pretty succinctly, so I will borrow them here: "It's wild."
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