Future of Wellness Revealed
by Jessica MontevagoThermal spa in Budapest, Hungary. Photo: Aida
The $3.4 trillion wellness industry is a booming market, attracting international and domestic visitors seeking a retreat from the hectic, plugged-in world in which we live.
Ahead of this year’s Global Wellness Summit (GWS), industry CEOs, economists, and researchers gave their predictions for what’s to come in the European wellness market.
European Wellness 2.0
After leading the industry for so long (think bath kurs and healing systems like 19th-century Sebastian Kneipp’s), Europe has taken a back seat to industry leaders like the Americas and Asia. However, the GWS said Europe is set for a comeback after making new investments into older, once-state-sponsored European spas, as well as new wellness retreat concepts.
Increased demand
The Global Wellness Institute estimates a 7.3% annual growth rate in European wellness tourism through 2017, particularly in Italy, Spain, and Portugal.
Wellness resorts will refocus on peace, quiet, and nature
Expect a shift from glitzy, amenity-driven, “exotic” resorts to a more simple, quiet getaway. Wellness retreats are being developed in former monasteries (in Schloss Mondsee, Austria, and Eremito, Italy) to help guests disconnect from the digital world. Also helping guests to unwind, retreats will appear in the middle of nature, like on top of mountains, in the woods, and on the water, ranging from treehouses to houseboats.
“Mini-kurs”
Normally a 10-day bathing ritual, the same experience will be offered to busy travelers in a shortened amount of time. “Mini-kurs” will pack a two- to three-hour bathing ritual, spa treatments, nutritious food, relaxation, and meditation/mindfulness into one or two days.
Heading East
Wellness seekers will begin to go to Eastern Europe for its newly developed resorts from the Baltic to the Black Seas, and even further out to the Asian Caspian Sea. Wellness properties are in the pipeline in Croatia, Estonia, Georgia, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Montenegro, Slovakia, and Slovenia. The region is home to a centuries-old spa and bathing culture, including traditions like climate therapy and ancient “black smoke saunas.”
