Taneesa Williamson As we navigate the aftermath of the pandemic, the demand for wellness experiences has surged, a trend consistently highlighted in surveys.
Groundbreaking insights from the Global Wellness Institute’s (GWI) latest report, the Global Wellness Economy Monitor 2023, present compelling statistics, positioning the flourishing wellness tourism market as a pivotal focus of the latest research.
While the global wellness tourism market faced a substantial setback from between 2019 and 2020, plummeting from $720 billion to $351 billion, it has remarkably emerged as the leading growth sector among the 11 wellness markets since then.
Experiencing an impressive 36% annual growth between 2020 and 2022, the market has rebounded to reach $651 billion, equivalent to 90% of its 2019 levels. With ongoing recovery efforts and a noticeable shift towards prioritising wellness among travellers, GWI forecasts a more than twofold increase in the wellness tourism market from 2022 to 2027.
Anticipated spending escalations are projected to soar from $651 billion in 2022 to $868 billion in 2023, reaching an impressive $1 trillion in 2024 and culminating at $1.4 trillion in 2027.
GWI’s cutting-edge research on the wellness tourism market is replete with invaluable data, ranging from the dimensions of the top 20 national markets to the fastest-growing global regions and the average expenditure of today’s wellness tourists.
Wellness Tourism in 2023: Unveiling Key Statistics
Wellness tourism is outpacing the broader tourism sector, marked by its exceptional 36% annual spending growth and a 30% annual increase in wellness trips from 2020 to 2022. These figures significantly outstrip the growth rates observed in overall tourism expenditures (28.4%) and trips (23.8%).
An analysis of travel spending reveals that wellness trips now constitute 7.8% of all tourism trips, commanding a substantial 18.7% share of total tourism expenditures.
In other words, nearly one in every five “travel dollars” is allocated to wellness tourism.
Domestic wellness trips take the lead, accounting for a staggering 88% of the 819.4 million international and domestic wellness trips made in 2022.
Wellness travellers prove to be high-value consumers, surpassing the spending habits of regular tourists. On average, international wellness tourists spend $1,764 per trip, a notable 41% more than their non-wellness counterparts.
The spending premium for domestic wellness tourists is even more pronounced, with a remarkable 175% increase over the average domestic tourist, equating to $668 per trip.
How will this impact the way your business promotes itself through the new year?
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