Wellness named one of the fastest growing markets in the world

The international wellness industry grew 10.6% to $3.72tn (£2.97tn) between 2013 and 2015, representing more than 5% of the global economic output and making it one of the world’s fastest growing markets, according to the Global Wellness Institute’s (GWS) Global Wellness Economy Monitor 2017 report.

Early findings of the report were shared at the Global Wellness Summit in October, before the full report was released this year.

The largest in the 10 diverse sectors that make up the global wellness economy was beauty and anti-ageing at $999bn (£799bn), while spa accounted for $99bn (£79bn), researchers found. It’s believed that the active pursuit of activities, choices and lifestyles are behind the surge. By 2015, the numbers of spas globally rose by 7% year on year to 121,595, with 37,420 in Europe, generating a revenue of $27.5bn (£22bn). The number of wellness tourism expenditures in Europe also increased during this time to 250 million trips, resulting in $193.4bn (£154.7bn), the report found.

Spas that focus on wellness also generate a higher average income than those who don’t, according to a separate new report by spa research company Intelligent Spas.

Defined as spas that offer “a variety of treatments and packages that incorporate wellness attributes, health and fitnessrelated services, classes and consultations”, the wellness spas surveyed by Intelligent Spas generated more than $1m (£804,000) in average annual revenue per spa in the past financial year. These spas also had on average 12.5 treatment rooms and 46% of clients who were return visitors.