“As spa tourism becomes more wellness-orientated, a growing number of spas are juxtaposing holism with modern medicine and entering the global ‘medi-spa’ market. Technology is also now at the forefront of the spa industry, from booking treatments online to social-media apps, promotions and offers.”
Modern spa tourism has evolved globally, from the first small businesses of the 1980s and 1990s into one of the world’s largest and most dynamic leisure industries. Today, global spa tourism is at the centre of the vast US$639.4-billion wellness-tourism market and is health tourism’s fastest-growing sector.
Health tourism is an ill-defined collective term described in 1973 by the International Union of Tourism Organizations, the forerunner to the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), as “the provision of health facilities utilising the natural resources of the country, in particular mineral water and climate”. Any stays away from home that were considered beneficial to health, such as engaging in active sports, visiting a health spa or experiencing a different climate, were labelled health tourism.
Since 1973, health awareness and interest in tourism has grown exponentially. Health tourism has become a social, cultural and economic phenomenon and an umbrella term for all forms of health-related tourism – now more usefully categorised as ‘wellness tourism’ and ‘medical tourism’.
| Wellness tourism: |
| Spa and beauty treatments, holistic, spiritual, leisure and recreation, yoga and meditation, sport and fitness, new age, spa pampering |
| Medical tourism: |
| Medical Surgical: |
| Cosmetic surgery, dentistry, operations, medical procedures |
| Medical Wellness: |
| Therapeutic recreation, rehabilitation (lifestyle-related), occupational wellness, thalassotherapy, nutritional and detox programmes |
| Medical therapeutic: |
| : |
| : |
While spas and spa tourism have no universally accepted definitions, spa tourism is generally understood to be travel for the purpose of enhancing health and wellbeing through the use of spas, preventative treatments and therapies.
Over the centuries, different cultures around the world have had some version of a ‘spa’, each of which has offered the promise of better health or quality of life. Some have been more medicinal for the purposes of curing disease and enhancing health. Others have been more recreational, as places to go to relax, socialise and have pleasurable experiences. Modern spas continue to exhibit this dual identity as retreats for healing, and also as getaways for luxurious pampering and pleasure (Jeremy McCarthy, The Psychology of Spas and Wellbeing, http://psychologyofwellbeing.com, 2012).
Spa tourism and wellness tourism are often considered synonymous because wellness tourism has evolved from the healing practices of traditional spas (thermalism and balneology). Wellness tourism – a relatively new niche segment within the global travel and tourism industry – developed about a decade ago and is defined by the Global Wellness Institute (GWI) as “travel associated with the pursuit of maintaining or enhancing one’s personal wellbeing.”
Wellness tourism represents the convergence of a growing global industry and a powerful lifestyle trend, as people around the world look for ways to mitigate the stresses of modern life. Wellness tourism encompasses not only spas and thermal/mineral springs but all travel promoting health, wellbeing and happiness. Various ‘non-spa’ activities such as spiritual and religious retreats, pilgrimages, adventure tourism and other life-enhancing experiences come under the banner of wellness tourism.
Over the decades, tourism has experienced continued growth and deepening diversification to become one of the fastest-growing economic sectors in the world. According to the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC), tourism now accounts for over 10% of the world’s gross domestic product (GDP) and one in ten jobs. With the cost of air travel continuing to decline and the growth in the number of middle-income ‘new travelling’ households set to rise, the sector is set for sustained growth. Wellness tourism reflects the rise of this new global middle class and its desire to rest, de-stress and experience new places and cultures. Research published in the Global Wellness Economy Monitor (GWEC) in October 2018 showed wellness tourism was worth US$639 billion in 2017 and is predicted to grow to US$919.4 billion in 2022. Spa tourism is positioned at the centre of this dynamic and growing global wellness economy.
This report examines global spa tourism from the 1980s onwards and looks at the following areas:
What is the meaning of the terms ‘health tourism’, ‘wellness tourism’ and ‘spa tourism’ and why are they not synonymous?
What is spa tourism’s history, from its earliest times to the present day?
How does the global spa industry look today?
What is the reason for the growth and popularity of spa tourism?
What are the future trends and how will spa tourism continue to evolve?
