The Global Wellness Economy Monitor
The wellness economy has now reached USD 6.3 trillion and it continues to grow at a significant pace. The wellness economy bounced back with incredible growth post-pandemic and is projected to reach $9 trillion by 2028.
Strongest growth leaders:
Wellness Real Estate
Mental Wellness
Public Health, Prevention & Personalized Medicine
Recovery driven by tourism:
Wellness Tourism
Spas
Not fully recovered post-pandemic:
Thermal / Mineral Springs
Workplace Wellness
The wellness economy in Latin America and the Caribbean reached $374.2 billion USD in 2023, a 13.1% increase from 2022. Wellness expenditures amounted to $313.9 billion USD, a 12.3% increase from the previous year, driven by approximately 55 million trips. This included $10.7 billion USD in spa revenue across the region, representing a 46.6% increase from 2022.
A Watershed Moment for Wellness
A beautiful video from Louie Schwartzberg guided the audience through the many varied journeys of water, reminding us all that we are nature and we are all interconnected.
Susie Ellis invited us to celebrate the new statistics revealing the growth of the global wellness economy. She recalled how, at the first Summit in New York 18 years ago, Dr. Richard Carmona shared that 70% of the world’s disease is preventable. That was Susie’s ‘ah-ha’ moment and led eventually to the Wellness Moonshot, launched in 2018. Susie posed the question “What can we accomplish together that we cannot alone?” The collaboration that happens at the GWS shapes the future of wellness around the globe.
Nancy Davis welcomed the audience, reminiscing about the previous night’s inaugural party – where over 500 attendees from 43 countries enjoyed St. Andrew’s lobster, a bagpipe performance, and an impressive fireworks display.
Water
J. Carl Ganter, Circle Of Blue, spoke about the current challenge of water. Water has historically determined the rise and fall of civilizations, and with the looming threat of water scarcity, the stakes have never been higher. Dehydration can incapacitate individuals within days, and the cost of inaction on water management could soar to $3.1 trillion USD. Mexico City came close to a ‘Day Zero’ (running out of water), while contaminated water in India jeopardizes food safety.
Climate is water, the cycles are changing and via water, we will experience these changes. The solutions to these challenges do exist. The goal is to have all organizations communicating and collaborating to work together. The only hope for water’s future is one that we deliberately design.
Sarah Livia Brightwood of Rancho La Puerta studied landscape conservation and showed how the land around Tecate, Mexico, has changed over the years. Rancho la Puerta now treats wastewater to reclaim the water used at the property and irrigates a 40-acre (16-hectare) park created for the city of Tecate. The treatment plant is net carbon zero and zero waste and this model can be replicated in other locations.
Anna Dyson and Christopher Sharples highlighted that by 2030, global water demand will outstrip supply by 40% and about half of the world’s population will live in water-scarce areas. Concrete production currently accounts for almost 10% of global industrial water use, therefore alternative materials must be explored. Clear windows could be coated with a substance that can collect water from the air, solar energy can be transformed through building facades and used to purity water for re-use.
Authors and wild swimming experts, Anna Deacon and Vicky Allan, started taking pictures of wild swimmers in the winter and asking swimmers about their experience. Wild swimming was helping people cope with grief, and overcome a variety of challenges, including physical and mental health issues. Combining wild swimming with sauna helps to attract those who are less enthusiastic about the cold water experience on its own.
Robert Hammond of Therme US, explained how water is central to gathering. Bathing, which combines physical well-being, social interaction, and spiritual connection, has deep roots across many cultures. Roman baths, Middle Eastern Hammam and Turkish baths, Japanese onsen pools and Finnish saunas all created gathering spaces. Bathing has always been a social infrastructure, we must remember the pleasure of bathing!
Christoper Barrett, of Worldsprings, shared research showing that 68% of the US population believe that water helps them feel good about themselves. Spending time near water is essential to elevating and sustaining happiness. WorldSprings endeavors to bring bathing experiences to urban settings by creating large-scale developments that blend international traditions with modern wellness facilities. Community has always been part of the hot springs experience, they also have specifically designed circuits for physical recovery, stress, or other conditions. With a maximum capacity of 3000 people, and entrance fees ranging from $60 to $95 USD, WorldSprings facilities create an affordable wellness activity. They require $50-60 million USD of investment to develop.
AI And Compassion
Victor Koo, of Tianren Culture, invited us to ‘Be Like Water’, exploring the concepts of regenerative vs generative, natural vs artificial, and wisdom vs intelligence. Water, he explained, cleanses, self-cleanses, and converges. In our world, we have a mental health crisis, geopolitical conflicts, a pandemic and climate change. Can we rebuild connections via ancient wisdom, community, practices and service? Via the creation of the Compassion Bot, AI can advise on wellness practices and lifestyle recommendations in a matter of seconds. Try it here: www.awakin.ai/compassion/join
Isaac Jones, Health Experts Alliance, claimed that AI will become a powerful tool in the coming years and is already being used in medicine. New innovations allow the creation of an AI Nurse to aid with patient discovery and diagnostics, even helping to discover errors that can occur when multiple physicians treat a patient. The future must include education of the consumer so that asymptomatic people take an active role in their health, wellness and longevity.
Optimism
David Stewart of Ageist shared new data on mindset and wellness, showing that 70% of your health is determined by your behavior, not your genetics. Are you an optimist? This mindset has been shown to be good for your health! Actions follow beliefs, those who believe they will live a long life, will prepare for this. Optimists are four times as likely to invest in wellness-promoting behaviors. There is a clear correlation between optimism and life-extending behaviors. Pessimism, on the other hand, is a stress state which leads to epigenetic damage in the body. Increase optimism by practicing gratitude, self-compassion, reframing negative situations, engaging in acts of kindness and visualizing your best possible future.
Creating Community
Jonathan Leary of Remedy Place explained that the concept of social wellness clubs has now proven to be a sustainable business model, offering spaces designed for healing and connection. With the promise of leaving better than you came in, Remedy Place provides a new way to socialize. Our social lives often negatively affect our health, with alcohol typically at the center of the social activity for many people. Changing habits to improve your wellness can often leave people with no social life. However, lacking social connection is as dangerous as six alcoholic drinks per day! A lack of social connection has drastic effects on health. What if we could shift our social activities to healthier ones? Social self-care will make us healthier!
Mental wellness
Jemma King PhD, studied 400 participants, unfamiliar with the Wim Hof Method, to assess the effects of ice baths and cold showers versus meditation. The research included two weeks of baseline data collection, a four-week intervention, and follow-up data collected for three months. Participants practiced breathwork, took cold showers, performed cognitive tests, and practiced weekly ice baths. Immediate cognitive benefits were seen, better mental clarity, ability to handle stress, more energy, better mental accuracy, better self-regulation and better-perceived sleep.
Michael Acton Smith of Calm, shared that the Calm app was created to make meditation accessible, aiming to become the go-to brand for performance of the mind. Michael sees loneliness as one of the biggest challenges and Calm will look at how to connect people with communities and get people offline, bringing them together.
Gundeep Anand, The Last Stand, created a street football league, initially in London, bringing together underprivileged youths and young adults from 13 to 36, both male and female, to play football without having to invest in kit or equipment. The organization provides community and supports youth mental wellness.
Wellness Tourism 3.0
Cathy Feliciano-Chon, Finn Partners, and Jeremy Jauncey, Beautiful Destinations identified trends including:
Nomadism: as people move around the globe, now able to work remotely, people can stay longer to form life-changing habits over time. An opportunity for wellness travel and wellness real estate.
Women’s health: fertility, postpartum, pleasure and menopause are all viable wellness programs now attracting female travelers.
Thermal springs: urban bath houses and thermal water will increase in popularity and can now be part of government wellness strategies.
From sustainable to regenerative: wellness tourism will need to be regenerative, or it cannot be considered wellness tourism.
Pleasure Health
Anna Bjurstam of Six Senses, regaled that during COVID in 2020, she lost her sense of taste, she decided to take psilocybin and her sense of taste returned the next day! Pleasure is part of our design, it drives us to seek food and reproduce. Healthy living is often a battle between willpower and our innate desire for pleasure. Why does getting healthy feel like punishment? The habit of voluntary suffering, like ice baths, could be marketed better, like promoting the all-day benefits in mood. How can we make wellness addictive?
Why is tracking your Amazon package more rewarding than a spa booking confirmation?
Points systems work, and spas not utilizing points systems to turn engagement and spending into rewards that benefit health. If you lead with pleasure, people will stay on track with wellness programs. What if wellness felt like falling in love? Are you ready to swipe right on yourself? Sustainable pleasure is the new frontier of health!
By Sara Jones, editor