Wellness travel is expected to surpass $1.1 billion by 2025

Wellness tourism continues to grow, with an expected growth of 20.9 percent every year through 2025, according to a new report.

The report, The Global Wellness Economy: Looking Beyond COVID by the Global Wellness Institute, found that the industry will reach nearly $1,130 billion by 2025. Read the full report here.

The Global Wellness Institute found that the wellness industry was affected almost more than any other industry during the pandemic, but is also expected to see some of the largest growth in the next few years.

In 2019, the wellness tourism industry passed $720 billion, but fell to $435 billion in 2020. According to the report, the industry rose to more than $650 billion in 2021, and is expected to surpass $800 billion in 2022.

“The underlying forces that propel the growth of wellness remain as compelling as ever, including: the growing global middle class, population aging, the ongoing rise of chronic disease, and expanding consumer interest in and awareness of healthy lifestyles,” the report stated. “And, the pandemic has brought new shifts that accelerate many wellness drivers, including a growing awareness of the role of the built environment in health, a growing focus on mental health and well-being, a rethinking of the balance of work and life, an expanding focus on social justice and environmental sustainability, and much more.”

The wellness tourism industry has been growing faster than the general tourism industry for five years, and wellness travel is not 6.5 percent of tourism trips (and 16.2 percent of expenditures).

“Consumers are increasingly aware that all aspects of their lives — where they live; how they work; what they eat; and how they exercise, socialize and travel — impact their health outcomes, mental resilience and overall sense of well-being.”