User:Els1015/Wellness tourism

Abstract
Wellness tourism is voluntary travel for the purpose of promoting health and well-being through various types of physical, psychological, or spiritual activities all over the world. Wellness tourism aims to control stress levels and promote daily peace. Specific types of wellness tourism includes meditation and multiple types of yoga as well as treatments that include conventional, alternative, complementary, herbal, or homeopathic medicine.

Market
In 2021, the global wellness tourism industry was valued at $850.55 billion and is expected to grow to $2.1 trillion by 2030.

The market primarily includes services like lodging, transportation, activities, and food and drink. The lodging segment dominates these sectors as it accounted for about 23% of the revenue in 2022. Lodging includes hotels, cabins, resorts, etc. and is dominated by few providers that own hundreds of locations across the US and thousands around the world - some industry leaders include Marriott International, Hilton Worldwide, Accor, Hyatt Corporation, and Four Seasons Hotels Limited.

North America is the biggest market of wellness tourism across the globe with a revenue share of about 40% as of 2022. International tourism has the highest projected growth in the global industry with Europe as the second largest and the Asia Pacific as third. Extreme growth is expected from Asia, the Middle East/North Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa and other developing countries that can offer unique ‘wellness’ experiences at much lower costs.

Wellness tourists are generally high-yield tourists, spending, on average, 130 percent more than the average tourist. In 2020, international wellness tourists spent 35% more than the average international tourist; domestic wellness tourists spend about 177% more than the average domestic tourist. Wellness tourists are generally wealthier and more willing to spend greater amounts of money on these types of experiences and services.

The wellness tourism market includes primary and secondary wellness tourists. Primary wellness tourists travel entirely for wellness purposes while secondary wellness tourists engage in wellness-related activities as part of a trip. Secondary wellness tourists constitute the significant majority (92%) of total wellness tourism trips and expenditures (85 percent).

Types
Wellness travelers pursue treatments and procedures using conventional, alternative, complementary, herbal, or homeopathic medicine. Industry leaders respond to travelers’ pursuits by meeting for weekends in destination locations to discuss and promote their businesses. Individual wellness practitioners and programs provide diverse services such as beauty treatments, exercise opportunities, health education, and relaxation methods to control stress levels, in luxurious, privately rented resort centers, small hotels, or sections of larger hotels themed for the purpose all over the world.

Stress control is one of the main drives in wellness tourism. Popular relaxation methods used to control stress include spiritual tourism, meditation, and both classical and exercise-based yoga. Spiritual tourism is a growing practice that has evolved from a religious pilgrimage into traveling to a sacred spot in hopes of finding a special feeling. Meditation also contains a spiritual/religious aspect but instead is based on self-reflection. Classical yoga differs in the way that it has philosophical backgrounds that focus on liberation and insight. Exercise yoga takes a different approach and incorporates the use of meditation. All of these types are examples of wellness tourism that are meant to reduce stress levels and promote healthy life habits.

Cruise ships can offer wellness programs including the use of on-board spas. Some wellness resorts go beyond this and offer programs such as short-term, residential retreats to address specific health concerns, reduce stress, or support lifestyle improvement. A few of these resorts also offer a unique wellness tourism retreat-like experience where every aspect of the trip is handled by someone else beginning at the airport.

Criticisms
Wellness tourism advocates suggest that vacations improve physical well-being, happiness, and productivity, citing that health-oriented trips give travelers a fresh perspective and positively affect creativity, resilience, problem solving, and capacity for coping with stress. Yet it is difficult to quantify the health benefits since many of the wellness practices are unregulated, and the growing industry negatively impacts the destinations that travelers flock to.

Quantifying Wellness
One study found that sectors of the wellness industry including healthy eating, physical wellness, and mental resilience had little to no statistical relationship with indicating better health. While these aspects of wellness are widely regarded to improve health outcomes, some believe that a higher level of spending in these areas does not actually improve health. In these sectors, the offerings of Wellness Tourism experiences do not have a tangible impact on the overall health of the consumer.

Regulatory Issues
Many Wellness Tourism practices are unregulated, and due to the breadth of countries and organizations in the industry, it is difficult to maintain standards across experiences. Over 60% of retreats admitted to not engaging with regulations or certifications beside basic health and safety checks. In many instances, safety cannot be guaranteed during wellness practices. There are several instances where tourists on ayahuasca retreats have died while under the influence of unregulated drugs. There have also been instances of tourists dying in sweat lodges and incidents involving cults during meditation retreats. There is also little regulation when it comes to employee training, and many retreat employees are only trained internally by their superiors. With the lack of regulations, it is difficult for consumers to determine which retreats are safe.

Environmental Impact
Another impact of tourism is the environmental impacts on the countries tourists flock to. As many wellness tourism destinations are developing countries, many of these countries are not equipped to handle the heavy influx of tourists surrounding the wellness industry. The draw of these locations is that they are remote: an escape from society. However, these remote locations lack the infrastructure to handle sewage, landfill, and enough natural resources to support tourists. In 2016, over 1,500 wellness retreat locations in India admitted to dumping sewage directly into rivers, and Tulum faced similar issues. Wellness tourism practices also destroy natural resources and habitats; with the rising fad of ayahuasca retreats, plants were depleted naturally and providers moved to farming them commercially, leading to deforestation to make room for fields.