Wellness tourism is expected to bring in more than US$1.1 billion by
2025, according to a December 2021 report by Global Wellness Institute.
Titled “The Global Wellness Economy: Looking beyond Covid, the report
indicates a growth of 20.9% annually through 2025.
This positive outlook just for wellness tourism itself outstrips the
projection for the global wellness economy, which is expected to grow
9.9% annually over the same period.
Wellness tourism reached a market size of US$720.4 billion in 2019,
but dropped to US$435.7 billion in 2020 due to Covid-19. Looking
forward, the US$652.8 billion market size achieved in 2021 will grow to
US$816.5 billion this year.
The report also highlighted that wellness travel comprised 6.5% of
all tourism trips in 2020 but represented 16.2% of travel expenditure as
this segment typically spend more per trip as compared to the average
traveller.
Other reports from industry players on 2022 travel trends reflect
similar findings regarding wellness. Closer to home, Expedia’s travel
trends report indicated 41% of Singapore travellers seek health and
wellness experiences, with 22% craving digital detox holidays.
In
Singapore Tourism Board’s report on travel personas of the future, the
“Slow Pacer” was identified to represent a segment of travellers who
focus on physical, emotional and mental well-being.
Neighbouring
cities such as Macau pivoted sharply last year to emphasise travel
opportunities in wellness tourism, with highlights that appeal to
families and those looking for “slow travel” experiences.
The
institute concluded that the Covid-19 pandemic has “accelerated the
ascendance of wellness as a dominant consumer value all around the
world”. Consumer impact is significant as they are “increasingly aware
that all aspects of their lives — where they live; how they work; what
they eat; and how they exercise, socialise and travel — impact their
health outcomes, mental resilience and overall sense of well-being”.
Global Wellness Summit will be publishing its annual wellness trends
report next month, and it is expected to reinforce current
sentiments and reports that 2022 is the year of wellness travel.