Wellness tourism spending reached $830.2 billion globally in 2023, while travelers took more than 1 billion wellness trips. The Global Wellness Institute’s Global Wellness Economy Monitor 2024 also forecasts nearly $1.0 trillion in spending for 2024 and about $1.4 trillion by 2027. These figures include domestic and international travel connected with wellness.
Contents
- Global market size and growth
- Trips, spending, and recovery
- Domestic and international wellness travel
- Regional wellness tourism performance
- Leading countries by spending
- Leading countries by trip volume
- Fast-moving markets and travel mix
Global market size and growth
The Global Wellness Institute reported $720 billion in global wellness tourism spending in 2019. Spending then fell to $351 billion in 2020 before recovering to $651 billion in 2022 and $830.2 billion in 2023. This sequence shows both the scale of the disruption and the strength of the subsequent rebound.
The institute forecasts that the market will reach nearly $1.0 trillion in 2024 and about $1.4 trillion in 2027. Its forecast annual growth rate is 16.6% from 2022 to 2027. The forecast period therefore describes expected future expansion, not completed spending.
Wellness tourism spending grew at an annual rate of 36% from 2020 to 2022. Wellness trips grew at 30% annually over the same period. In 2022, wellness trips represented 7.8% of all tourism trips, while wellness tourism accounted for 18.7% of all tourism expenditures. The spending share was therefore larger than the trip share in that measurement year.
Secondary wellness tourism made up 83% of wellness tourism trips and expenditures in 2023. The Global Wellness Institute uses this category for trips where wellness is not the primary purpose, so the statistic indicates that wellness-related spending extends beyond dedicated retreats or health-focused vacations.
Trips, spending, and recovery
Travel volume increased from 819.4 million wellness trips in 2022 to 1,034.5 million in 2023. The 2023 total includes 900.0 million domestic wellness trips and 134.5 million international or inbound wellness trips. In 2022, the corresponding totals were 725 million domestic trips and 95 million international or inbound trips.
The following table places the principal global measurements side by side.
| Measure | 2019 | 2020 | 2022 | 2023 | 2027 outlook |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wellness tourism spending | $720 billion | $351 billion | $651 billion | $830.2 billion | About $1.4 trillion |
| Wellness trips | — | — | 819.4 million | 1,034.5 million | — |
| Wellness trips as share of all tourism trips | — | — | 7.8% | — | — |
| Wellness spending as share of tourism expenditures | — | — | 18.7% | — | — |
The 2023 spending total was above the 2019 level, while the recovery varied by type of trip. Domestic wellness trips recovered to 114% of their 2019 global level in 2023. International wellness trips recovered to 93% of their 2019 level. For all domestic trips overall, the comparable recovery was 90%, and for all international trips overall it was 88%.
These comparisons are percentages of 2019 levels, not dollar totals. They also measure different populations: wellness trips on one side and all tourism trips on the other. Keeping those denominators separate is important when interpreting the recovery.
Domestic and international wellness travel
Domestic travel dominated the wellness category in both years measured. Domestic wellness trips represented 88% of all wellness trips in 2022, compared with 12% for international wellness trips. In 2023, domestic trips represented 87% and international trips 13%.
The absolute counts rose for both segments. Domestic wellness travel increased from 725 million trips in 2022 to 900.0 million in 2023. International or inbound wellness travel increased from 95 million to 134.5 million over the same period. The shares shifted only modestly because both segments grew.
The United States illustrates the importance of domestic travel at country level. Domestic wellness tourism represented 95% of all wellness trips in the U.S. market in 2023. The United States recorded 207.5 million wellness trips that year and $300.6 billion in wellness tourism expenditures.
The global trip totals also show why a country can be important for spending without ranking first in trip volume. Wellness tourism includes different travel patterns and spending levels across markets, and the supplied 2023 figures report those measures separately.
Regional wellness tourism performance
Every regional wellness tourism market listed by the Global Wellness Institute exceeded its 2019 spending level by 2023. North America reached 106% of pre-pandemic spending, Europe reached 102%, and Asia-Pacific reached 116%. Latin America-Caribbean reached 131%, the Middle East-North Africa region reached 155%, and Sub-Saharan Africa reached 142%.
Asia-Pacific experienced a particularly sharp change between 2022 and 2023. Its wellness tourism trips were 61% of 2019 levels in 2022, then reached 125% of 2019 levels in 2023. Its expenditures were 54% of 2019 levels in 2022 and 116% in 2023.
The Middle East-North Africa region also exceeded its 2019 position on both measures in 2023. Wellness trips were 137% of 2019 levels, while wellness expenditures were 155%. From 2019 to 2023, wellness trips in the region grew at an annual rate of 8.1%, and wellness tourism expenditures grew at 11.6% annually.
The broader wellness economy is a different measure from wellness tourism. In 2023, the overall wellness economy reached $2.16 trillion in North America, $1.88 trillion in Asia-Pacific, and $1.65 trillion in Europe. Latin America-Caribbean reached $374 billion, the Middle East-North Africa region reached $165 billion, and Sub-Saharan Africa reached $92 billion. Their 2019 comparison values were $1.57 trillion, $1.62 trillion, $1.32 trillion, $307 billion, $127 billion, and $80 billion, respectively.
Leading countries by spending
The top 20 countries represented 84% of the global wellness tourism market in 2023. The United States ranked first, Germany second, China third, France fourth, and Japan fifth. Austria ranked sixth, Italy seventh, Australia eighth, Switzerland ninth, and the United Kingdom tenth.
India ranked eleventh, Mexico twelfth, Spain thirteenth, Canada fourteenth, and Thailand fifteenth. Turkey ranked sixteenth, South Korea seventeenth, the United Arab Emirates eighteenth, Portugal nineteenth, and Indonesia twentieth.
The reported expenditure figures for these markets were:
| Rank | Country | 2023 wellness tourism expenditure |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | United States | $300.6 billion |
| 2 | Germany | $77.8 billion |
| 3 | China | $55.7 billion |
| 4 | France | $41.3 billion |
| 5 | Japan | $22.6 billion |
| 6 | Austria | $21.1 billion |
| 7 | Italy | $19.2 billion |
| 8 | Australia | $19.0 billion |
| 9 | Switzerland | $18.0 billion |
| 10 | United Kingdom | $17.5 billion |
| 11 | India | $16.4 billion |
| 12 | Mexico | $15.5 billion |
| 13 | Spain | $14.6 billion |
| 14 | Canada | $13.3 billion |
| 15 | Thailand | $12.3 billion |
| 16 | Turkey | $8.6 billion |
| 17 | South Korea | $7.3 billion |
| 18 | United Arab Emirates | $7.2 billion |
| 19 | Portugal | $6.4 billion |
| 20 | Indonesia | $6.0 billion |
The United States alone accounted for 36% of global wellness tourism expenditures in 2023 and 20% of global wellness trips. Those two shares use different measures, so neither should be read as a share of the other.
Leading countries by trip volume
The United States recorded the largest listed number of wellness trips in 2023, at 207.5 million. China followed with 158.7 million, and India recorded 108.1 million. Germany reported 70.4 million, Japan 41.1 million, and France 38.7 million.
Other country totals were 23.5 million trips in the United Kingdom, 20.9 million in South Korea, 20.1 million in Spain, 17.9 million in Mexico, and 17.7 million in Austria. Canada recorded 16.5 million, Australia 14.6 million, Thailand 13.5 million, Italy 13.0 million, Turkey 10.4 million, and Indonesia 10.0 million.
Switzerland recorded 11.5 million wellness trips, Portugal 5.9 million, and the United Arab Emirates 2.9 million. These are trip counts for 2023, not unique travelers; the supplied source reports trips rather than people.
The contrast between spending and trip rankings is notable. China ranked third by expenditure but second by trips, while Germany ranked second by expenditure and fourth by trips. India ranked eleventh by expenditure but third by trips. The figures describe market scale through two complementary lenses rather than a single ranking.
Fast-moving markets and travel mix
Several country markets showed substantial changes in the reported periods. China’s wellness tourism spending increased from $9.7 billion in 2022 to $55.7 billion in 2023, and the source reports growth of 477.4% from 2022 to 2023. India’s wellness tourism spending grew 116.5% from 2019 to 2023.
Thailand’s wellness tourism spending grew 119.5% from 2022 to 2023. The United Arab Emirates recorded 43.1% growth from 2022 to 2023. These growth rates refer to the periods stated by the Global Wellness Institute and should not be substituted for a long-term annual growth rate.
The 2023 country data also shows different relationships between trip volume and spending. China combined 158.7 million wellness trips with $55.7 billion in expenditures. India combined 108.1 million trips with $16.4 billion. Thailand recorded 13.5 million trips and $12.3 billion, while the United Arab Emirates recorded 2.9 million trips and $7.2 billion.
At global level, the market is defined by both scale and breadth: 1,034.5 million wellness trips, $830.2 billion in spending, an 83% share for secondary wellness tourism, and a top-20 country group representing 84% of the market in 2023. The next published outlook is nearly $1.0 trillion in 2024 and about $1.4 trillion in 2027, based on the Global Wellness Institute’s forecast.