
The Global Wellness Economy Stands at $4. 4 Trillion Amidst the Disruptions of COVID-19; Is Forecast to Reach $7 Trillion by 2025 – Hospitality Net
New Global Wellness Institute research–the most in-depth in its history–reveals that the wellness market grew to a record $4. 9 trillion in 2019 and then fell to $4. 4 trillion in the pandemic year of 2020. But with a consumer “values shift” underway, the future of the particular wellness market is incredibly bright, predicted to grow 10% annually through 2025
The nonprofit Global Wellness Institute (GWI) today unveiled its much-anticipated research report, “The Global Wellbeing Economy: Looking Beyond Covid”, which provides new global market data on the overall wellbeing economy plus for each of its eleven sectors. The particular 100-page report answers the big questions: How did typically the shock of COVID-19 impact the health and fitness industry? Which wellness markets fared best and worst? What is the future of the well being economy–and why?
The GWI last measured the health industry in $4. 3 trillion within 2017, and the new research reveals that it grew to historic levels in this two years before the pandemic, reaching $4. 9 trillion in 2019. With often the massive economic shocks from COVID-19, your global health and wellness economy fell 11%, in order to $4. four trillion, inside 2020. Using the outbreak ushering in a major shift in values for consumers, governments, as well as the medical world–where prevention in addition to wellness take on far greater importance–the GWI predicts that the health care market will return to be able to pre-pandemic levels in 2021 ($5 trillion), and will grow at an impressive 10% annual pace through 2025, when it will reach $7 trillion.


The statement, released today at the Worldwide Wellness Summit in Boston , will be the GWI’s most specific research on wellness marketplaces ever: For the first time, it offers detailed numbers and analysis for all 11 wellness sectors: pre-pandemic, pandemic, and potential growth rates; rich regional and national data; and even the major trends that will impact each sector post-COVID.
Typically the report is free for you to download here .
“This research update is usually crucial, because 2020 is the watershed 12 months that will forever divide history–and the exact trajectory associated with the and also economy–into ‘before’ and ‘after’ COVID-19, ” said Ophelia Yeung, GWI senior study fellow. “When we analyze how different wellness market segments performed in the last year, it’s natural to want to compare them and label winners together with losers. But there is no question that wellness–as a concept, as a lifestyle priority, and additionally consumer value–is a big winner through the outbreak. ”
KEY FINDINGS :


This momentum for wellness is definitely evident in the strong pre-pandemic growth rates for every sector between 2017 not to mention 2109, where each market hit a record valuation. In those years, the along with economy increased 6. 6% annually, the significantly higher rate than global financial growth (4%). In the pandemic yr of 2020, the perfectly economy contracted by 11%, nearly four times more than the particular declines throughout global GDP (-2. 8%). Unsurprisingly, industries requiring a new physical presence and/or full immersion for the actual experience, including physical activity, wellness tourism, spas, and also thermal/mineral springs, saw the biggest pandemic declines–while healthy eating/nutrition/weight loss, health condition real estate, mental health as well as, and the public health/prevention/personalized medicine category all showed strong pandemic growth.
For the first time, the research breaks down the total well getting economy with regard to each worldwide region. Asia-Pacific was one of the fastest-growing perfectly being markets coming from 2017 to help 2019 (8. 1% growth), and this also shrank the least during the outbreak (-6. 4%). Conversely, North America was the fastest-growing overall health region by 2017 to 2019 (8. 4%), but among typically the hardest hit by the pandemic (-13. 4%).
Asia-Pacific had the largest effectively being market in 2020 ($1. 5 trillion), followed by Northern America ($1. 3 trillion), and Europe ($1. 1 trillion). Per capita spending on wellness can be significantly increased in North America ($3, 567) and European countries ($1, 236) than in other international regions.


Often the wellness economy will develop an extremely robust 60% via 2020-2025, with most segments projected in order to exceed GROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCT growth across those many years. Markets along with the highest growth projections (wellness travel and leisure, thermal/mineral springs, spas) are those that took the greatest hits around 2020. Sectors that demonstrated positive outbreak growth, including wellness real estate as well as mental currently being, are forecast to see powerful, ongoing market expansion.
Wellness Market Snapshots:
Wellness Tourism (pandemic loser, future winner):
Grew 8% annually out of 2017 to be able to 2019 (reaching $720 billion) and then required a major strike in 2020. The market shrunk -39. 5% to $436 billion, while wellness trips dropped right from 936 million to 601 million. Your impressive 21% annual development rate projected for physical condition tourism through 2025 reflects new traveler values ( a quest for nature, sustainability, mental wellness) while well as a period of rapid recovery with pent-up demand in 2021 and 2022.
Thermal/Mineral Springs (pandemic loss, future winner):
One of the fastest-growing wellness areas from 2017 to 2019, with revenues rising as a result of $56 billion to $64 billion (6. 8% annual growth). Hit hard by the pandemic, revenues dropped -39% inside 2020, shrinking the market to $39 billion. There are now 35, 099 hot suspension springs establishments throughout 130 countries. The downturn is temporary: Very strong 18% annual growth is expected through 2025, with 140-plus new projects in the pipeline.
Spas (pandemic battu, future winner) : From 2017 for you to 2019, this spa industry was growing at a fast 8. 7% annual rate and reached $111 billion dollars in income across 165, 714 spas–with a big jump in hotel/resort spas (from 48, 248 to 60, 873). The exact high-touch industry got hit hard on 2020: Revenues fell simply by -39% (to $69 billion) and spa establishments dropped to 160, 100 (with a loss of over 4, 000 day spas). But the industry is anticipated to recover fast, with the market developing 17% yearly through 2025, and more than doubling revenues (to $150. 5 billion).
Wellness Real Estate (pandemic and future winner) : With COVID-19 dramatically accelerating the understanding of the role that often the built environment and our homes play in our physical and psychological health, your wellness real estate market was the #1 growth-leader both before and during the exact pandemic: The marketplace grew because of $148. five billion found in 2017 to help $225 million in 2019 to $275 billion inside of 2020 (22% annual growth). Wellness residential projects (either built or in the pipeline) skyrocketed from 740 in 2018 to over 2, 300 nowadays. Wellness real estate will certainly continue the growth surge: The marketplace will double to $580 billion from 2020 to 2025 (16% annual growth).
Physical Activity (pandemic loser, long term winner):
This six-sector market grew five per cent from 2018-2019 (to achieve $874 billion), but profits fell 15. 5% at 2020 (to $738 billion). The fitness subsector (gyms, studios, classes) suffered some sort of severe -37% revenue decline in 2020. Fitness technology was, regarding course, the particular bright spot, exploding 29% in 2020 to become a $49. 5 thousand market–with digital apps, streaming and on-demand workout platforms surging 40%. The segment’s hybrid bricks-and-mortar/digital future is certainly bright: the market will nearly double–from $738 billion in order to $1. two trillion–from 2020-2025.
Mental Well being (pandemic plus future winner):
Posted solid 7% progress from 2019-2020 (from a good $122 billion to your $131 billion market), because consumers desperately sought solutions to help them cope together with pandemic stresses. The largest segment, “senses, spaces and sleep, ” expanded 12. 4%, while the smallest segment, meditation and mindfulness, grew typically the fastest (25%). The forecast: strong 10% growth each year through 2025, to reach $210 billion.
Personal Care & Beauty (pandemic loser, future winner): Consumer spending expanded through $1 trillion in 2017 to $1. 1 trillion in 2019, after which declined by 13% to $955 billion present in 2020. In 2020, Asia-Pacific moved coming from being this third to the first-ranked marketplace. Spending may bounce back post-pandemic, using 8. 2% annual expansion through 2025, to achieve $1. 4 trillion.
Traditional & Complementary Medicine (pandemic loser, upcoming winner) : This market spans different holistic, indigenous, ancient therapies in addition to products (acupuncture, Ayurveda, Conventional Chinese Medicine, chiropractic, etc . ). It became from $376 billion during 2017 to be able to $432 billion dollars 2019, yet contracted for you to $413 million in 2020. It will see healthy seven percent annual advancement from 2020-2025, reaching $583 billion.
Healthy Eating, Nutrition & Weight Loss (pandemic and foreseeable future winner): One of often the few becoming sectors that will maintained positive growth (3. 6%) throughout the pandemic, which launched some wave involving interest for home cooking, healthy food, and even immunity-focused foods and supplements. The sector grew by $858 thousand in 2017 to $912 billion through 2019 to help $945. 5 billion here in 2020–and is forecast to grow 5% annually via 2025, to get to $1. 2 trillion.
Public Health, Prevention & Personalized Medicine (pandemic together with future winner) : Another sector of which saw good pandemic growing (4. 5%), largely due to the fact many governments and healthcare systems ramped up their public health and additionally prevention expenditures through the COVID-19 crisis. The sector matured from $328 billion using 2017 in order to $359 billion in 2019 to $375 billion in 2020 (when it represented about 4% of total global health expenditures from $8. 8 trillion). With painful lessons from the outbreak about the terrible costs connected with underinvesting within public wellness, the segment is prediction to increase 5% every year through 2025–to reach $478 billion.
Workplace Health (pandemic loss, future winner, with a difference): This segment grew 4. 6% on a yearly basis from 2017 to 2019–reaching a market high of $52. 2 billion–but then shrank 7% inside 2020, to be able to $48. 5 billion. Companies are recognizing that a compartmentalized, programmatic approach for you to employee wellbeing is not particularly effective throughout tackling your rising challenges of stress, work-life balance, and emotional health, so many are shifting to help more meaningful, holistic approaches encompassing everything from changing company culture to focusing upon the built environment. These expenditures cannot be assessed as “workplace wellness, ” so expenses may decline even since the focus about employee wellbeing actually expands. Even so, the exact market is normally pegged to develop 4% per year through 2025, reaching $58. 4 billion dollars.
“The health and happiness economy can grow in order to $7 trillion in 2025, because the forces the fact that have been driving that remain as powerful while ever: an expanding world-wide middle class, an aging population, not to mention rising chronic disease, ” said Katherine Johnston, GWI senior study fellow. “But the pandemic has brought new shifts and a global ‘values reset’: ‘Wellness’ right now means far more than a facial or even spin course, with a fabulous growing focus on mind wellbeing plus the importance with work-life stability, social justice, environmental sustainability, the built environment, and also public well-being. These types of drivers is going to underpin the particular recovery for the health and wellbeing economy; they will also shift consumer, policy as well as healthcare investing in new directions. ”
About typically the Global Health and wellness Start
The particular Global Health care Institute (GWI), a nonprofit 501(c)(3), is without a doubt considered this leading global research and educational resource for the worldwide wellness business and is known for introducing major market initiatives plus regional events that bring together leaders to be able to chart the future. GWI positively impacts international health in addition to wellness by simply educating public institutions, businesses and individuals on how they can work to prevent disease, reduce stress and enhance the overall quality about life. Its mission is to empower staying worldwide.