WHAT IS WELLNESS TOURISM?
Wellness tourism is the powerful intersection of two large and growing industries: the $2.6 trillion
tourism industry and the $4.2 trillion wellness industry. Holistic health and prevention are
increasingly at the center of consumer decision-making, and people now expect to continue their
healthy lifestyles and wellness routines when they are away from home.
In 2013, the Global Wellness Institute (GWI) unveiled the inaugural edition of the Global Wellness
Tourism Economy report—a landmark study that defined the parameters and characteristics of the
emerging wellness tourism sector, estimated its global size, and highlighted its far-reaching
economic impacts. Since then, this tourism segment has accelerated around the world. GWI now
estimates that wellness tourism is a $639 billion global market in 2017, growing more than twice as
fast as general tourism.
Five Key Things to Know About Wellness Tourism
1.
What is wellness tourism?
The Global Wellness Institute defines wellness tourism as travel associated with the pursuit of
maintaining or enhancing one’s personal wellbeing. With so much unwellness embedded in
today’s travel, wellness tourism brings the promise of combating those negative qualities and turning
travel into an opportunity to maintain and improve our holistic health.
2. Wellness tourism is not medical tourism.
Wellness tourism is often conflated with medical tourism—not only by consumers but in destination
marketing. This confusion is caused by an incomplete understanding of these markets and
inconsistent usage of terminologies by destinations, government organizations, and promotion
agencies. Sometimes the term “health tourism” is also used as a catch-all to describe many types of
medical and wellness services and activities—from open heart surgery and dental care to destination
spas and yoga retreats—causing further confusion. In fact, these two sectors operate largely in
separate domains and meet different consumer needs.
A good way to understand the difference is to look at our health and wellbeing on a continuum:
On the left are poor health, injury and illness. The medical paradigm treats these conditions.
Medical tourism falls on this side—for example traveling to another place to receive surgery or
a dental treatment because it is more affordable, higher quality, or not available at home.
On the right side of the continuum is wellness—these are the proactive things we do to
maintain a healthy lifestyle, reduce stress, prevent disease, and enhance our wellbeing. This is
what motivates wellness tourism.
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There is some overlap between medical tourism and wellness tourism—for example, DNA testing or
executive checkups. But in general, the types of visitors, activities, services, businesses and
regulations involved are very different between medical tourism and wellness tourism, even though
they may share a dependence on a region’s basic tourism and hospitality infrastructure and amenities.
3. Who are the wellness travelers?
There is a common misconception that wellness travelers are a small, elite and wealthy group of
leisure tourists who visit destination spas, health resorts or yoga and meditation retreats. In fact,
wellness travelers comprise a much broader and more diverse group of consumers with many
motivations, interests and values.
GWI identifies two types of wellness travelers:
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Primary wellness traveler: A traveler whose trip or destination choice is primarily
motivated by wellness.
Secondary wellness traveler: A traveler who seeks to maintain wellness while traveling or
who participates in wellness experiences while taking any type of trip for leisure or business.
Importantly, primary and secondary wellness travel can be done by the same person on different
trips, and these two types of wellness travel reinforce one another. Over time, some secondary
wellness travelers will decide to take a primary wellness trip, as their interest in and experience with
wellness grows. For example, a person who visits a day-use hot spring during a family vacation
(secondary wellness travel) may later be motivated to plan a weekend getaway staying at a hot spring
resort (primary wellness travel).
4. Every destination has something unique to offer to wellness travelers.
Like other forms of specialty travel, wellness travel is not a cookie-cutter experience. Every
destination has its own distinct flavors in relation to wellness, linked with its local culture, natural
assets, foods, etc. Some travelers may be satisfied with a generic massage, exercise class or
smoothie. The more discerning and sophisticated wellness travelers—especially those in the
millennial generation—are interested in what the destination offers that is different from someplace
else. These unique and authentic experiences can be built upon indigenous healing practices;
ancient/spiritual traditions; native plants and forests; special muds, minerals, and waters; vernacular
architecture; street vibes; local ingredients and culinary traditions; history and culture; etc. Because
each destination is different, there is always something unique to offer wellness travelers.
Every destination has something unique to offer
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5. Wellness tourism brings benefits to businesses and stakeholders beyond the wellness sectors.
The wellness tourism economy is much larger than a narrowly-defined set of typical wellness
businesses, such as spas, wellness retreats, thermal/mineral springs and boot camps. Wellness
travelers (especially secondary wellness travelers) are looking to continue their wellness lifestyle
during travel, and this lifestyle may encompass healthy eating, exercise/fitness routines, mind-body
practices, nature experiences, connections with local people and culture, etc., thereby creating
opportunities for businesses such as yoga studios, gyms and fitness centers, healthy food
stores/markets, events, arts and crafts, museums and many others.
In addition to wellness experiences, all wellness tourists need transportation, food and lodging, and
themy will likely seek out shopping or entertainment. All of these businesses—whether they are
wellness-specific or not—benefit from wellness tourism and are part of the wellness tourism
economy. There are numerous opportunities to infuse wellness into all kinds of amenities and
services, which can help businesses differentiate, provide more value, and capture higher spending
by wellness travelers. Examples include airport spas that target wellness travelers in transit; wellness-
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centered hotels for those who want better sleep and regular fitness routines; specialty restaurants
serving healthy, organic or local cuisine; transportation companies that use clean fuels or low-/zero-
emission vehicles; or gift shops that sell products that are connected to unique local wellness
traditions.
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In 2018, GWI released an updated Global Wellness Tourism Economy report, which provides in-
depth analysis and data for the sector. GWI’s wellness tourism figures are also updated and released
every few years in the Global Wellness Economy Monitor. For the most recent wellness tourism
research, see GWI Wellness Industry Reports & Publications.
Wellness tourism may help destinations mitigate the negative impacts of mass tourism or over-
tourism. Because wellness travelers tend to be high-spenders and favor experiences that are authentic
and unique, there is less pressure for destinations to engage in a “race to the bottom” strategy that
competes on price and [Link] tourism also provides destinations with an opportunity to
reduce the seasonality of visitor flows. For example, ski destinations can attract wellness travelers
interested in hiking and other outdoor activities in the summertime, while beach destinations can
appeal to travelers who are looking for a more tranquil environment to de-stress or take a retreat in
the wintertime.
Wellness Definitions
What is Wellness?
History of Wellness
What is The Wellness Economy?
What is Wellness Tourism?
What is Wellness Lifestyle Real Estate & Communities?
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