Spa Executive December 2023

project was on wellness (which was still
a foreign concept to most), spanning
everything from fitness to healthy food to
a healthier version of travel. We could see
that a more holistic version of total wellbeing
was beginning to resonate with businesses,
consumers, and even governments. So, we
became the Global Spa and Wellness Summit,
and eventually the Global Wellness Summit.
We will hold our 18th annual summit in
2024 at St. Andrews in Scotland. In 2015 we
launched the Global Wellness Institute, the
nonprofit arm of the Global Wellness Summit,
where we house all our research, industry
initiatives, and other programs. Between the
Summit and the Institute, there are about 18
of us working, many part time: It’s a small but
mighty team.
How big is the growth of the global
wellness economy?
Wellness is one of the great economic growth
stories of the last few years. Our research
shows that it has exploded from $3.7 trillion
in 2015, to $4.9 trillion in 2019, to $5.6 trillion
in 2022 – and we forecast it will hit $8.5
trillion in 2027. It has grown 12% annually
since the pandemic year of 2020, as Covid is
proving a crucial turning point, with wellness
and prevention becoming far more important
to consumers. Those are huge numbers, and
the world is sitting up and paying attention.
Our bubble chart also shows that wellness as
an industry is always expanding: for instance,
we added mental wellness as a distinct
market a few years ago. We will be updating
the numbers on the wellness market each
year going forward.
You’re a “trends expert.” Why do you enjoy
this topic?
Keeping your finger on the pulse of wellness
trends is really keeping your finger on the
pulse of major cultural and demographic
shifts and it’s a uniquely clear window into
what people need and want. We’ve been
forecasting trends for a long time.
When we introduced forest bathing back in
2015, or the surge in interest in mushrooms
in 2018, people thought we were a little
crazy. But both took off, and that’s what I
find so exciting and interesting: we could
see something beginning to bubble up. I
enjoy that I get to contribute to the growth
of these ideas by putting them out there and
helping build momentum.
What are some of the trends you’re excited about
for 2024?
Our top trend for 2023 was “Wellness
Comes for the Loneliness Epidemic,” about
the surge in wellness spaces, concepts and
experiences that bring people together
in real life; where social connection is the
burning center of the concept. Pre-pandemic,
wellness had gotten away from its DNA of
sparking human connection, and led with two
“lonely” models: a sea of hyper-consumerist
“me time” products and “digital wellness”
like meditation apps or online fitness. As a
culture we have since grasped that loneliness
kills and human connection is the lynchpin
of physical and mental health. The “more
social connection” in wellness and spa will
only be a bigger trend in 2024. There is so
much going on, from social wellness clubs
expanding globally to new social apps that
are actually social (creating dinner parties for
strangers or bonding apartment dwellers)
to more governments fighting loneliness
with new social wellness policies. In the spa
world, there has been movement ( like more
recovery experiences people can do together
and more social events), but I think we could
do it even better and focus on more creative
and curated connected experiences. This is a
big opportunity for spas and I believe we will
see more unique and successful models in
the future.
Mental wellness has been a massive trend
in our industry these last years, and one
that’s become more important coming out
of the pandemic and with all the stressors
in the world. When I started in the industry
decades ago, spa was really all about physical
health, but mental wellness is now as, if not
more, important. This is why we invited the
superstar gymnast Simone Biles to our recent
Summit in Miami. She was experiencing a
mental issue called the “twisties,” a terrifying,
dangerous experience where, when you’re
twisting in the air, you lose track of where you
are. So, she pulled out of the Tokyo Olympics
and was widely criticized for it, because
people didn’t understand that this was a
mental health issue, not some fear about
competing. Simone (like a few other star
athletes) has become a powerful advocate
for mental health and wellness, and with her
global megaphone, she has helped lift the
stigma, and helped people to really talk about
this. We are seeing more mental wellness
programming ahead.
Another trend that I don’t see people
talking about much yet is new intersections
between wellness, sports, and hospitality.
This crossover is, in part, being fueled
by technology, with more spas (which
were just about massage and facials)
and wellness centers offering treatments
such as cryotherapy, ice baths, hyperbaric
chambers, and IVs. A few years ago this
was reserved for elite athletes. We will see
more sports programming and more sports
performance services and facilities move
into hospitality wellness.
Sports tourism is also growing fast. This is
a trend that is fairly new on the wellness
industry’s radar, but it’s exciting because a lot
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