There are as many reasons for travelling as there are travellers themselves, but one reason often comes to the fore: the quest for well-being. According to the Global Wellness Institute, this quest will be behind 819.4 million international and domestic trips in 2022. A substantial number that attests to the boom in this type of tourism, all the more so following the health crisis in which people's mental and physical well-being has been severely tested. Hoteliers are seizing on this trend to attract and retain new customers, boosting their revenues. How can an attractive wellness offer be integrated into a hotel? What trends are shaping the wellness tourism landscape in 2024 and beyond?
Although the wellness tourism market fell sharply in 2020, from 720 billion dollars in 2019 to 351 billion dollars, it subsequently experienced annual growth in spending of 36% and annual growth in travel of 30% between 2020 and 2022. Since then, this market has continued to grow, with wellness travel accounting for 7.8% of all tourist trips and 18.7% of all tourist spending in 2022.
And this upward trend is not likely to stop any time soon. In fact, the Global Wellness Institute forecasts that the wellness tourism market will more than double between 2022 and 2027, with significant increases in spending between 2022 (651 billion dollars), 2023 (868 billion dollars) and 2024 (1,000 billion dollars). Thereafter, the growth curve is expected to level off and remain strong, but less pronounced.
Hotels and wellness: a mix that makes sense
While the primary role of a hotel is to offer travellers a place to sleep, this role has now been greatly surpassed. This development is in line with the new expectations of customers, who are looking for more than just a stay - they are looking for an experience. An experience that can be centred around well-being, with a hotel stay offering a bubble away from time and far from home.
Taking care of your customers and your bottom line
According to RLA Global's Wellness Real Estate Report 2024, the wellness tourism market is set to grow by more than 12% a year over the next decade, with wellness set to become one of the main sources of revenue for hotels. While F&B has been leading the way in recent years, it would appear that wellness is gaining ground.
This is what the Wellness Real Estate Report 2023 reveals, with midscale TRevPAR increasing by more than 53% in 2022 in hotels...
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