If you have not yet figured out a way to appeal to the growing global wellness movement, you had better start. It could mean a big boost to your business. A couple of days ago, the Global Wellness Institute (GWI) released research showing that the global wellness industry recently grew 10.6 percent, from a $3.36 trillion market in 2013 to $3.72 trillion in 2015. One of the 10 wellness markets analyzed was Wellness Tourism. It was the fourth fastest growing wellness market and grew 14 percent from 2013 to 2015. Other wellness markets include Preventative/Personalized Medicine & Public Health, Fitness & Mind-Body, etc. “Recent years have been marked by global economic contraction and disruptive geopolitical events, but a ‘wellness economy’ just keeps rising, with an upward trajectory that seems unstoppable,” said Ophelia Yeung, Senior Research Fellow, GWI.
“And we predict that consumers, governments and employers will continue to spend big on wellness because of these megatrends: an emerging global middle class, a rapidly aging world population, a chronic disease and stress epidemic, the failure of the ‘sick-care’ medical model (resulting in uncontrollable healthcare costs), and a growing subset of (more affluent, educated) consumers seeking experiences rooted in meaning, purpose, authenticity and nature,” Yeung added.
According to GWI, Wellness Tourism revenues grew from $494.1 billion to $563.2 billion from 2013 to 2015. World travelers made 691 million wellness trips in 2015, 104.4 million more than in 2013. Wellness tourism now accounts for 15.6 percent of total tourism revenues—nearing 1 in 6 of total “tourist dollars” spent. That’s, in part, because wellness travelers spend much more per trip: international wellness tourists spend 61 percent more ($1,613/trip) than the average international tourist, and the premium for domestic wellness travelers is even higher: $654 per trip, 164 percent higher than the typical domestic tourist. Wellness tourism is responsible for 17.9 million jobs worldwide.
