The global wellness industry grew 10.6 percent in the last two years, from a $3.36 trillion market in 2013 to $3.72 trillion in 2015, according to research released by the Global Wellness Institute (GWI). This new data on the ten markets that comprise the global wellness “cluster” provides fresh evidence that wellness is one of the world’s largest, fastest growing, and most resilient markets. Economic context: *From 2013-2015, the global wellness sector registered double-digit growth, while the global economy/GDP shrank by -3.6%* - a “growth gap” of nearly 15%. *The wellness industry now represents 5.1% of global economic output. * Wellness expenditures are now nearly half as large as total global health expenditures ($7.6 trillion**). Among the ten wellness markets analyzed, the fastest growing from 2013-2015 were: 1) Preventative/Personalized Medicine & Public Health ( 23.5 percent), 2) Fitness & Mind-Body ( 21.4 percent), 3) Wellness Lifestyle Real Estate ( 18.6 percent), 4) Wellness Tourism ( 14 percent), and 5) Healthy Eating, Nutrition & Weight Loss ( 12.8 percent). These topline numbers were released at the 10th annual Global Wellness Summit being held inKitzbühel, Austria, which has attracted 500 industry leaders from 45 nations. The in-depth report, the2 016 Global Wellness Economy Monitor, with detailed data on regional and national wellness markets, will be released in early 2017. “Recent years have been marked by global economic contraction and disruptive geopolitical events, but a ‘wellness economy’ just keeps rising, with an upward trajectory that seems unstoppable,” says Ophelia Yeung, senior research fellow, GWI. “And we predict that consumers, governments and employers will continue to spend big on wellness because of these megatrends: an emerging global middle class, a rapidly aging world population, a chronic disease and stress epidemic, the failure of the ‘sick-care’ medical model (resulting in uncontrollable healthcare costs), and a growing subset of (more affluent, educated) consumers seeking experiences rooted in meaning, purpose, authenticity and nature.” |
