The GWI defines the wellness economy as industries that enable consumers to incorporate wellness activities and lifestyles into their daily lives. The definition of the wellness economy encompasses eleven varied and diverse sectors.

Market Size 2022 and Growth 2020–2022

• Personal Care and Beauty—$1,089 billion (+8.5%)

• Healthy Eating, Nutrition, and Weight Loss—$1,079 billion (+6.7%)

• Physical Activity—$976 billion (+14.3%)

• Wellness Tourism—$651 billion (36.2%)

• Public Health, Prevention, and Personalized Medicine—$611 billion (+6.6%)

• Traditional and Complementary Medicine—$519 billion (7.4%)

• Wellness Real Estate—$398 billion (+20.5%)

• Mental Wellness—$181 billion (12.5%)

• Spas—$105 billion (22.3%)

• Workplace Wellness—$51 billion (+2.8%)

• Thermal/Mineral Springs—$46 billion (+7.7%)

While robust, the 2022 numbers reflect a cautious economic outlook that demonstrates an environment of rising interest rates, persistent inflation, and fear of recession—resulting in consumers reining in consumer spending, including wellness. According to Euromonitor, after a -4.8% drop in 2020, global consumer spending increased by 12.8% in 2021, but then grew by only 4.6% in 2022.

Projected Growth 2022–2027

• Wellness Real Estate—17.4%

• Wellness Tourism—$16.6%

• Thermal/Mineral Springs—14.3%

• Mental Wellness—12.8%

• Spas—8.3%

• Traditional and Complementary Medicine—8.2%

• Healthy Eating, Nutrition, and Weight Loss—6.8%

• Physical Activity—6.7%

• Personal Care and Beauty—5.7%

• Workplace Wellness—2.9%

• Public Health, Prevention, and Personalized Medicine—1.6%

For the next five years, GWI projects that the global wellness economy will grow at a robust rate of 8.6% annually, a growth rate substantially higher than the projected global GDP growth of 5.1% according to current forcasts from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). By 2027, the global wellness economy is estimated to represent 6.6% of global GDP, as compared to 5.6% in 2022.

The wellness economy is dynamic and rapidly evolving and its adjacency to the beauty and personal care makes the GWI research an important resource to understand the future trajectory and identify opportunities in what has become an incredibly diverse sector.