Wellness Travel by the Numbers

If you’ve been curious as to how much the wellness tourism industry has grown, just take a look at the numbers. The Global Wellness Institute has released a report that highlights the explosive growth seen in the wellness travel and tourism industry in the past few years. Here are five of the most surprising statistics on wellness travel from the 2017 Global Wellness Economy Monitor.

1. The global wellness economy was worth an estimated $3.7 trillion in 2015.

“The wellness economy now represents more than 5% of global economic output and is almost half the size of all global health expenditures which reached $7.6 trillion in 2014.”

2. The global workplace wellness industry grew 6.4% from 2013 to 2015, from $40.7 billion to $43.3 billion.

“The global epidemic of unwellness at work – costing the world’s economy 10-15% in economic output – is fueling a $43 billion workplace wellness market. The emerging global middle class; rising disposable incomes; and growing consumer interest in health, travel, and new experiences are all fueling strong demand – propelling wellness tourism into a $563.2 billion global market in 2015.”

3. World travellers made 691 million wellness trips in 2015, 104.4 million more than in 2013.

“Wellness trips account for 6.5% of all tourism trips but represent 15.6% of total tourism expenditures. Wellness tourism is concentrated in North America, Europe, and Asia. Europe sees the highest number of wellness trips, while North America leads in wellness tourism expenditures.”

4. The global spa market grew from $94 billion in 2013 to $98.6 billion in 2015.

“In 2015, there were 121,595 spas operating around the world, earning $77.6 billion in revenues and employing more than 2.1 million workers. Since 2013, the industry has added 16,000 spas, more than 230,000 workers, and $3.5 billion in revenues.”

5. Global wellness tourism revenues grew from $494.1 billion in 2013 to $563.2 billion in 2015 — a growth rate more than twice as fast as overall tourism expenditures.

“Wellness tourism continues to grow faster than global tourism, as more consumers aspire to higher levels of wellness and incorporate it into their travels. The global wellness real estate market was one of the fastest-growing wellness sectors from 2013-2015: growing 19% from $100 billion to $118.6 billion.”