Global beauty and anti-ageing market now worth £829bn
Beauty, personal care and anti-ageing is the strongest sector of the wellness market, and rose 4.1% annually between 2015 and 2017, to reach a value of $1,083 billion (£829bn), according to new data from the Global Wellness Institute (GWI).
Meanwhile, spa was named the fastest growing sector, with an annual growth rate of 9.8% and a value of $119bn (£91bn)
The total value of the global wellness economy recorded an annual growth rate of 6.4% between 2015 and 2017, to reach a market value of $4.2 trillion (£3.2 trillion), according to the GWI’s new 2018 Global Wellness Economy Monitor Report.
This is nearly twice as fast as the global economic growth during this time (3.6%), the report found, and the top revenue growth leaders from this time period (per annum) were: spa industry (9.8%), wellness tourism (6.5%), and wellness real estate (6.4%).
With wellness expenditures at $4.2 trillion, the sector is now more than half as large as the total global health expenditures, which stand at $7.3 trillion (£5.6 trillion) and has put the wellness industry on the map as a big player, representing 5.3% of all global economic output.
The 10 sectors that make up the global wellness ecosystem are:
Personal care, beauty and anti-ageing – $1,083bn (£829bn), a 4.1% annual growth rate
Healthy eating, nutrition and weight loss – $702bn (£538bn), up 4.1%
Wellness tourism – $639bn (£490bn), up 6.5%
Fitness and mind-body – $595bn (£456bn), up 4.8%
Preventive and personalised medicine and public health – $575bn (£441bn), up 3.7%
Traditional & complementary medicine – $360bn (£276)
Wellness real estate – $134bn (£102bn), up 6.4%
Spa economy – $119bn (£91bn), up 9.8%
Thermal/mineral springs – $56bn (£43bn), up 4.9%
Workplace wellness – $48bn (£37bn), up 4.8%.
“All 10 wellness sectors are dynamic and interconnected, intrinsically linked to the wellness economy as a whole. In the face of longer lifespans, rising chronic disease, stress, and unhappiness, we are re-examining our lives and refocusing our attention on what makes us well – particularly the places and manner in which we live, work, and travel,” the report stated.
“The wellness economy mirrors those shifting priorities, alongside a growing recognition of the critical impact of external environments on our health and wellbeing.”
Less than 10% of the global workforce benefits from workplace wellness initiatives, only those who work for the world wealthiest economies or work for large multinationals, the report found.
In North America, 54% of employed workers in this region had access to workplace wellness programmes and services last year, while only 5% did in South America. In Europe, a quarter (25%) of employees enjoyed these benefits, while only 8% in the Middle East–North Africa region did, 5% Asia-Pacific and 1% in sub-Saharan Africa.
At $639 billion (£490bn), wellness tourism is now a significant and fast-growing segment of global tourism, expanding from $563.2bn (£432bn) in 2015. Travellers made 830 million wellness trips in 2017, which is 139 million more than two years previous (2015), the data found.
“While some expenditures are made on wellness-focused activities (such as visiting a hot spring, getting a massage, or taking a meditation or fitness class), others are “generic” travel expenditures (such as transportation, food and lodging, shopping, etc.),” the report said. “As more consumers incorporate wellness into their lifestyles, there are many opportunities for all businesses to infuse wellness into their offerings and capture spending by wellness travellers.”
The GWI defines wellness as the active pursuit of activities, choices and lifestyles that lead to a state of holistic health.