Q: What do bathing elephants in Southeast Asian jungle rivers, stand up comedy workshops at Caribbean beachfront resorts, trekking in the Himalayas, and tracking lions in Africa have in common?

A: They’re all activities that are bundled into the growing ‘mycotourism’ sector.

The mushroom tourism space is a quickly growing niche sector that spans the broader ‘Wellness Tourism’ industry (a space which is valued at over $1 trillion currently) and the adventure tourism industry.

Following on the heels of the multi-billion dollar cannabis tourism industry, the mushroom tourism economy is quietly carving out its own sizable lane as a major international business opportunity. 

The ‘Mycotourism’ industry is suddenly a bonafide international network with specialized regional forays and focuses on different aspects of mushroom science and culture across the globe. With the rise in popularity of mushrooms, the offerings in the ecotourism space now span from Ecuador to Bhutan and Mexico to Thailand, with many other locations in between.

While the psilocybin mushroom tourism space itself has largely been framed within a therapeutic and wellness framing, adventurous outfitters and clientele are already moving beyond the confines of healing-focused trips (pun intended!) and towards broader offerings that lean into mushrooms as amplifiers of extraordinary and unique experiences.

Take for example this upcoming trip to Northern Thailand being promoted by popular creator Soul of Jaret in which guests will spend a week with the Karen Hill Tribe outside of Chiang Mai tending to the local elephant herds while picking wild psilocybe mushrooms from the animals’ dung and meditating with monks in jungle caves.

Another example of psilocybin mushroom tourism evolving in real time is the upcoming Laughter Is Medicine retreat I’m co-hosting with psilocybin retreat industry veteran Andy Sudbrock in Jamaica March 15-20 at Coral Cove Wellness Resort in Little Bay.

This is the first legal retreat in the growing mushroom tourism industry that explicitly focuses on fun and play as foundational elements of a life well-lived -- stand up comedy, live music, kayaking, bonfires and more at a private beachfront resort will color the ‘set and setting’, and two psilocybin mushroom experiences with locally grown fruit will amplify the fun in the sun.

While psilocybin mushroom tourism is a major driver of the growing 'mycotourism sector, many other non-psychedelic mushroom tours and hospitality services are popping up around the world.

Our friends at The Fungivore have been leading wild mushroom foraging and cultural immersion experiences in Mexico for 7 years, and they are adding their first mushroom tour of Thailand to the mix this year.

Below is an example of one of their upcoming itineraries in Oaxaca, Mexico for the 2026 season.

In the southwesternmost state of Chiapas, Mexico, the brand Aleacion FUN offers a range of mushroom hospitality and tourism services including microdose-infused massages, a cafe with mushroom drinks and educational resources, and facilitating mushroom rituals across the country. I’m personally a very big fan of their CacaoFungi drink.

(Editors note: Alex, pictured on the right below, is now translating the Mycopreneur Newsletter into a native Spanish language format available separately through the Mycopreneur website. We are hosting our first Mycopreneur Incubator in Spanish next week as a separate event from our regularly scheduled weekly programming. Please reach out if you’d like to participate)

Alongside multi-day domestic and international adventures into the foraging, cooking, and cultural use of mushrooms across the world, a new breed of mushroom-themed cafes and ‘third space’ cultural centers are opening up across the United States. Los Hongos Cafe in Portland is a mycocentric cafe and educational space that features exotic mushrooms cultivated in store infused into dishes such as the Oyster Mushroom Tacos and Lion’s Mane Chorizo Empanada and drinks such as the Mushroom Cacao featuring a blend of functional mushrooms. There are numerous examples of these types of mushroom cafes cropping up around the world.

I've even recently become aware of a ‘Psychedelic Safari’ tour operator in South Africa who takes guests on psilocybin or mescaline-enhanced trips to track exotic wildlife like lions and giraffes in the region — though given that these substances are still technically illegal in the country, it’s largely a word of mouth operation.

I’ll be exploring the growing world of mushroom tourism more in depth with several feature articles for different platforms across in the coming weeks leading up to our Laughter Is Medicine retreat in Jamaica — which by the way, we have a few spots remaining for — so that’s a wrap on this subject for today’s newsletter, but please join us at the Incubator later today to dive deeper into this evolving industry.

In Kenya, local tribes are leaning into mushroom growing using locally available inputs and low-tech cultivation techniques to grow oyster mushrooms as a sustainable crop amidst regional droughts that have impacted their ability to farm. They use elephant poop as a substrate, as depicted in the image above.

This is a living lamp featuring the fully colonized substrate of bioluminescent Panellus stipticus fungi — as described by the product creators,

“Inside each container lives a carefully cultivated substrate fully colonized by Panellus stipticus, a remarkable bioluminescent fungus known for its soft, natural glow. Over time, the mycelium forms primordia and eventually small fruiting bodies — and when conditions are right, they emit a gentle green light that feels almost magical.”

The viral interactive, free mushroom art experience featuring artists around the world hiding their original mushroom art works and providing clues as to the whereabouts via social media is back on June 13. This project is like ‘an easter egg hunt for art and annually features participants from The U.S. to Russia to Japan to Tasmania and beyond participating.

The Mycopreneur Incubator is our weekly low-key, cost free online networking and acceleration hub for mushroom entrepreneurs, researchers, and the myco-curious.

Today's Incubator will focus on the growing global mushroom and psychedelic tourism industry and it’s being co-hosted by Andy Sudbrock of Sacred Path Retreats. Andy and I are joining forces to host our first ever ‘Laughter Is Medicine Retreat’ in Jamaica March 15-20, and I’ve been learning a lot about this growing sector of the mushroom space.

Meeting ID: 875 7527 7676
Passcode: 038704

Thanks for reading today’s Mycopreneur Newsletter, see you at the Incubator

DW