Decades ago, wellness was a spiritual quest tied into Deepak Chopra and the Dalai Lama. Today, “wellness” has become the operative word in “wellness tourism” — a segment of the travel industry estimated to generate more than $435 billion a year. So says the folks behind the recent Global Spa & Wellness Summit in New Delhi, who contend wellness is now the new cronut of travel.
Ranging from yoga and spa services to fitness and healthy food, wellness tourism encompasses a wide-range of travel activities “associated with the pursuit or maintaining or enhancing of one’s personal well-being,” according to Summit CEO Susie Ellis.
Wellness travel currently comprises some 14 percent of the entire tourism industry — and is growing at an estimated 9.9 percent annually. The segment’s impact is being felt on both the large and small scale. Major hotel chains such as InterContinental and Westin have now introduced wellness facilities company wide.
Intercon, for instance, is launching an entirely new wellness-focused brand called Even, which should have 100 outposts over the next five years. At Westin, yoga salons and in-room fitness machines have become ubiquitious at key properties worldwide.
As for notable wellness-focused destinations, “Thailand is a hotspot right now,” says author and medical travel expert Josef Woodman, CEO of Patients Beyond Borders. “Thailand is a huge center for spas, obviously, and wellness is already built into its culture. It’s a slam dunk, organically blending wellness and medicine.” As for closer-to-home destinations, Woodman adds, “Mexico and Colombia are beginning to court wellness travelers.”