Wellness tourism stands at the crossroads between the burgeoning travel and wellness industries and takes a healthy share of the market. But by far, the biggest share goes to beauty and personal care. People are nowadays more aware of the importance of wellness, and the growth of this industry looks set to continue.

What is wellness?
So, what is wellness exactly? According to the National Institute of Wellness: “Wellness is an active process through which people become aware of, and make choices toward, a more successful existence.” There is a consensus that wellness is (National Institute of Wellness, 2020): a conscious, self-directed, and evolving process of achieving full potential. Wellness is multidimensional and holistic, encompassing lifestyle, mental and spiritual wellbeing, and the environment, and it is positive and affirming.

Wellness is a holistic approach that reaches beyond mere health and toward mental, spiritual, and physical wellbeing and other positive lifestyle factors such as gratitude and success. Bill Hettler originally conceived of six dimensions of wellness in 1976. Nowadays, seven dimensions are commonly recognized (sometimes eight even).

Read Here: The Seven Dimensions of Wellness
A burgeoning multisector industry
Ten years ago, the groundbreaking World Happiness Report was released (April 1st, 2012) and is now published annually by the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network. The report drew upon data collected from the Gallup World Poll, which measured the state of happiness (fundamental causes and detractors and policy implications) in 155 nations across the globe.

The GWI predicts that the 11-sector wellness economy will expand by a whopping 10% by 2025, worth $5 trillion. The 11 components that make up this industry comprise:

The popularity of wellness tourism
The GWI defines wellness tourism as ‘travel associated with the pursuit of maintaining or enhancing one’s personal wellbeing.’ It is important to distinguish between this and medical tourism, which is not the same thing though the two concepts are commonly mixed up. Wellness tourism involves activities that are proactive, entirely voluntary, non-invasive, and non-medical in nature.

Wellness tourism continues to grow. The idea of wellness travel might conjure up blissful images of a yoga retreat or spa break, but wellness tourism incorporates a broader spectrum of activity. According to the GWI, there are two kinds of wellness travelers:
The primary wellness traveler
Here the trip is predominantly motivated by wellness
The secondary wellness traveler
Here the motivation is the maintenance of wellness during travel for otherwise either business or leisure purposes
When people travel to optimize health and wellbeing, they frequently head for the spa. A spa break is a staple top choice destination currently accounting for an estimated $128 billion slice of the industry pie (GWI, 2022).

The most popular destinations for travel are the Caribbean, Asia-Pacific, Middle East, and North Africa regions. People chose these places on account of the amenability of the climate and the variety of options on offer ranging from activities involving meditation, fitness, spa breaks, personalized health, and nutrition.

The future of wellness
According to the GWI, the future of wellness will likely look different than in the past because the COVID-19 pandemic has spurred a major shift in how consumers understand and experience wellness. These shifts involve a move from self-pampering and escapism toward self-preservation and survival; closing the gap between science and wellness; a prevention lifestyle and conjoint healthcare priority; a balancing of personal and virtual connections; lean into nature for nourishment and healing; prioritization of mental health; a global-wide resetting of values and the seeking out economic, environmental, and social justice and more attention to the meaning of life.

Researchers have sought to predict where health promotion is headed between now and 2050. In the past, values were passed from generation to generation, but now more than ever, recent generations have a heightened sense of a changing society (and the world in general) due to the widespread accessibility of information. Edington et al. 2016 mapped some changing factors relevant to future developments in wellness according to generational affiliation:

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The World Health Organization defines wellness as a state of complete physical, mental and social well being, not just the absence of disease. The concept of wellness isn’t something new. In fact, the idea of wellness stretches back to ancient Chinese, Greek and Roman cultures, which all emphasized holistic approaches to achieving health, well-being, and harmony within one’s life. My personal definition of wellness is allowing the best possible health in my physical, emotional, intellectual, spiritual, and social self.

Many of these concepts of wellness are still true today, as we manage even more life challenges than our ancestors did. Many health experts agree that wellness should include a balance among multiple life dimensions: emotional, physical, social, spiritual, environmental, financial, intellectual and occupational. They believe that all dimensions of wellness are interrelated and crucial to a fulfilling life.

What Wellness Means to Some Experts

While I was researching this article, I came across other people’s definitions of wellness. Maybe some of them will resonate with you and help you shape or refine your own.

Amanda Chantal Bacon, founder of Moon Juice

“Wellness to me right now and for the last little bit has been giving myself the permission to take time to take care of myself and to be by myself and to not have to feel guilty for not participating and responding to all of the demands all of the time. And to really give myself space and freedom to be with myself and my family.”

Neil Grimmer, founder of Habit Food

“I think wellness is a feeling: when you just feel activated in all aspects of your body and your mind when things are lined up and they’re harmonized, and you just feel unstoppable.”

Ashley Neese, breathwork teacher, spiritual counselor, and meditation guide

“Wellness means the willingness to trust myself, to follow my instincts even when it’s inconvenient, even when it’s uncomfortable, even when I feel like it’s uncomfortable. It really means trusting myself, listening to myself, and slowing down long enough to really get a clear picture of what’s next.”

Will Cole, functional medicine expert

“Wellness is an idea of total optimal function. And not just physical health. Someone can have physical health and their labs look great, but they are stressed out, and they are isolated, and they aren’t living a full life. But it’s just a total optimal function.”

Krista Stryker, personal trainer

“Feeling good in your own body. Feeling strong in your body and mind, and that they’re in sync with one another.”

Alison Canavan, author and parenting expert

“Wellness to me means peace of mind and heart. That’s what we’re always striving for, and it really means spending time and being present. But real wellness for me means looking at the full 360. Really connecting the dots of your health and well-being for ourselves and understanding what we like and what works for us because we’re all so different. So understand that it’s a personal journey and being comfortable in your own skin. Being OK with saying, this is what works for me; this is what I like doing.”

While each of these experts have their own unique definition of wellness, there are definitely common themes that have to do with nurturing the mind and the body.

Creating Your Wellness Goals

Once you have a good idea of what wellness means to you, you can start looking at creating goals to increase your sense of wellness. Having a clear idea of the different things you want makes it much easier to create those changes.

Typical wellness goals include maintaining a healthy weight, reducing stress, managing medical challenges, increasing fitness or nurturing creativity to fulfill personal and professional goals. Some people I’ve talked to want a better balance between work and home. Others want to be more organized and less cluttered. And some people want to be more intuitive and better at listening to the signals their body gives them.

My wellness goals are centered around being aware of how I’m feeling, and using that awareness to make improvements as I go. In other words, it’s being aware of what is working in life and improving upon it, and also being aware of what is not working and being proactive about improving it. I’m always looking for the balance in my life, so I’m relaxing enough, moving enough, eating the things that makes my body feel good, thinking in ways that make me feel good emotionally, and challenging my mind and body in a way that create improvements.

I’m a big fan of writing things down, so now is a great time to grab a notebook. You could start by sketching out your definition of wellness, and then move on to listing some things you’d like to improve on. As we’ve learned, everything on this list has an impact on your overall wellness.