A new report from the Global Wellness Institute (GWI) reveals that the wellness industry has blossomed 12.8 percent over the last year, pushing the total value of the industry from $3.7 trillion in 2015 to $4.2 trillion. Entitled “2018 Global Wellness Economy Monitor,” the report examines the ten global wellness sectors, all of which experienced recent, sizeable gains.
The new report shows that the wellness economy has grown 6.4 percent annually, progressing nearly twice as fast as global economic growth. Wellness expenditures are also now more than half as large as total global health expenditures, which totals $7.3 trillion. Of the 10 wellness markets analyzed as revenue growth leaders between 2015 and 2017, the spa industry showed the largest growth rate with 9.8 percent. Rounding out the top three largest bloomers were wellness tourism at 6.5 percent, and wellness real estate at 6.4 percent.
“Once upon a time, our contact with wellness was occasional: we went to the gym or got a massage. But this is changing fast: a wellness mindset is starting to permeate the global consumer consciousness, affecting people’s daily decision-making—whether food purchases, a focus on mental wellness and reducing stress, incorporating movement into daily life, environmental consciousness, or their yearning for connection and happiness,” says Katherine Johnston, senior research fellow for GWI. “Wellness for more people is evolving from rarely to daily, from episodic to essential, from a luxury to a dominant lifestyle value. And that profound shift is driving powerful growth.”
To read the full report, click here.
