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The report says female travellers are the most important segment driving wellness tourism globally
According to a World Tourism Organization report, outbound Asia-Pacific travellers now represent 37 per cent of the world’s total, with international travel spending doubling in the last decade. Asia-Pacific is also the fastest-growing wellness tourism market: wellness trips jumped 33 per cent in the last two years, and the market will essentially double from 2017–2022: from US$137bn to US$252bn.
To understand this fast-growing market, Asia brand consultancy CatchOn has released a report – Asia: The Future of Global Wellness Tourism. It conducted more than 50 interviews with travellers, luxury tour operators, spa consultants, travel journalists, wellness destination resorts and hospitality brands to arrive at three main consumer archetypes driving growth.
Female travellers Women – travelling with other women or alone – are a force unto themselves, and will become the most important market segment driving the wellness tourism boom worldwide. Women-only vacations have soared in popularity in the last decade, with some tour companies reporting over 200 per cent growth in the last few years alone, and wellness activities are at the heart of the experience. More women are also putting solo trips on their bucket list – solo, but in the company of others.
Affluent new agers The fastest growth in wealth creation is in Asia, and Hong Kong has now overtaken New York to become the world’s largest ultra-high net worth city. With the combined factors of longer life expectancy and having the means to pursue wellness at a younger age, Asians who are approaching mid-life are recontextualising ageing as aspirational. They’re not postponing living well until after retirement, but are embracing a life-well-lived mindset in their 40s, because they can afford it. They are willing to spend on travel and wellness, with the goal of indulging in bucket-list activities while they can.
Chinese millennial millionaires As the middle class grows and incomes rise, producing more millionaires and billionaires at an exponential rate, so too does their appetite for travel and wellness experiences. The growing importance of health in the lives of Chinese millennials is reflected in wellness tourism, with a strong focus on mental health, as well as intellectual and social wellness. For Chinese millennials, wellness travel often means stepping out of a comfort zone and pushing boundaries, and is perceived as a life-enriching experience. This means holidays in which they can explore new cultures, engage in adventure sports, immerse themselves in the wonders of wildlife, and sign up for a healthy cooking class or mindful living workshop.
Read more from this issue of Spa Business magazine
Spa Programmes: On the menu
Energy medicine at Six Senses; aroma retreat on Croatia’s Island of Vitality and menopause programming all feature in our spa menu round-up
Top team: Rosewood
Jane Kitchen talks to the wellness team behind Rosewood, and its forward-thinking spa concepts, as CEO Sonia Cheng leads a vigorous global rollout
Everyone’s talking about: CBD
Are CBD treatments and products an unregulated fad, or a serious business proposition? Spa Business investigates
Promotional feature: The Madison Collection
Innovation of form and function in robes and towels is a vital part of attracting the next generation of wellness consumers. Charmaine T Lang from The Madison Collection explains how her company consistently maintains its successful point of difference
Interview: Markus Engel
The CEO of Asia’s Urban Resort Concepts talks to Spa Business about positive disruption in the hospitality and spa sector
Promotional feature: The Wellness
A beautiful pool can be the standout feature that draws new customers. It can also cut your running costs if it’s designed to be sustainable. Mohammed Ibrahim, CEO of The Wellness, explains
Interview: Davide Bollati
Liz Terry speaks to the founder of Comfort Zone about the group’s new botanical garden and ongoing commitment to environmentalism
Research: Generation gap
A new consumer study by ISPA uncovers spa-goer preferences and habits across different age groups
Promotional feature: Phytomer
Formulating the ultimate universal product to heal and defend the skin has taken three years of R&D for Phytomer, the French luxury marine skincare brand. The company’s scientific director tells Spa Business about the launch of the groundbreaking Prebioforce serum
Event Report: APSWC Round Table
Industry leaders contribute to APSWC’s third white paper at annual gathering. Catharine Nicol reports from Malaysia
Family spa: Play time
Spa Business takes a look at innovative spa programmes for children and families
Eco spa: Going green
Joanna Roche and Bonnie Baker share their ambitions for the Green Spa Network
The report says female travellers are the most important segment driving wellness tourism globally
According to a World Tourism Organization report, outbound Asia-Pacific travellers now represent 37 per cent of the world’s total, with international travel spending doubling in the last decade. Asia-Pacific is also the fastest-growing wellness tourism market: wellness trips jumped 33 per cent in the last two years, and the market will essentially double from 2017–2022: from US$137bn to US$252bn.
To understand this fast-growing market, Asia brand consultancy CatchOn has released a report – Asia: The Future of Global Wellness Tourism. It conducted more than 50 interviews with travellers, luxury tour operators, spa consultants, travel journalists, wellness destination resorts and hospitality brands to arrive at three main consumer archetypes driving growth.
Female travellers Women – travelling with other women or alone – are a force unto themselves, and will become the most important market segment driving the wellness tourism boom worldwide. Women-only vacations have soared in popularity in the last decade, with some tour companies reporting over 200 per cent growth in the last few years alone, and wellness activities are at the heart of the experience. More women are also putting solo trips on their bucket list – solo, but in the company of others.
Affluent new agers The fastest growth in wealth creation is in Asia, and Hong Kong has now overtaken New York to become the world’s largest ultra-high net worth city. With the combined factors of longer life expectancy and having the means to pursue wellness at a younger age, Asians who are approaching mid-life are recontextualising ageing as aspirational. They’re not postponing living well until after retirement, but are embracing a life-well-lived mindset in their 40s, because they can afford it. They are willing to spend on travel and wellness, with the goal of indulging in bucket-list activities while they can.
Chinese millennial millionaires As the middle class grows and incomes rise, producing more millionaires and billionaires at an exponential rate, so too does their appetite for travel and wellness experiences. The growing importance of health in the lives of Chinese millennials is reflected in wellness tourism, with a strong focus on mental health, as well as intellectual and social wellness. For Chinese millennials, wellness travel often means stepping out of a comfort zone and pushing boundaries, and is perceived as a life-enriching experience. This means holidays in which they can explore new cultures, engage in adventure sports, immerse themselves in the wonders of wildlife, and sign up for a healthy cooking class or mindful living workshop.
Read more from this issue of Spa Business magazine
Spa Programmes: On the menu
Energy medicine at Six Senses; aroma retreat on Croatia’s Island of Vitality and menopause programming all feature in our spa menu round-up
Top team: Rosewood
Jane Kitchen talks to the wellness team behind Rosewood, and its forward-thinking spa concepts, as CEO Sonia Cheng leads a vigorous global rollout
Everyone’s talking about: CBD
Are CBD treatments and products an unregulated fad, or a serious business proposition? Spa Business investigates
Promotional feature: The Madison Collection
Innovation of form and function in robes and towels is a vital part of attracting the next generation of wellness consumers. Charmaine T Lang from The Madison Collection explains how her company consistently maintains its successful point of difference
Interview: Markus Engel
The CEO of Asia’s Urban Resort Concepts talks to Spa Business about positive disruption in the hospitality and spa sector
Promotional feature: The Wellness
A beautiful pool can be the standout feature that draws new customers. It can also cut your running costs if it’s designed to be sustainable. Mohammed Ibrahim, CEO of The Wellness, explains
Interview: Davide Bollati
Liz Terry speaks to the founder of Comfort Zone about the group’s new botanical garden and ongoing commitment to environmentalism
Research: Generation gap
A new consumer study by ISPA uncovers spa-goer preferences and habits across different age groups
Promotional feature: Phytomer
Formulating the ultimate universal product to heal and defend the skin has taken three years of R&D for Phytomer, the French luxury marine skincare brand. The company’s scientific director tells Spa Business about the launch of the groundbreaking Prebioforce serum
Event Report: APSWC Round Table
Industry leaders contribute to APSWC’s third white paper at annual gathering. Catharine Nicol reports from Malaysia
Family spa: Play time
Spa Business takes a look at innovative spa programmes for children and families
Eco spa: Going green
Joanna Roche and Bonnie Baker share their ambitions for the Green Spa Network
People taking GLP-1 weight loss medications such as Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro and Zepbound
may be losing weight, but they’re also becoming less physically active, according to new
research presented at the ENDO 2026 annual meeting of the Endocrine Society
Abu Dhabi-based investment firm Mubadala Capital has made a binding, fully financed
€1 billion
offer to acquire Pierre and Vacances SA, the European holiday resort operator behind the
continental European Center Parcs business.
Global retreat trade show, Synergy The Retreat Show, has launched a resource called The
Source, which hosts an open-access online Transformation Series programme.
The Standards Authority for Touch in Cancer Care (SATCC) charity has announced its first five-
day Living with Cancer and Beyond retreat, which will be held at Carden Park Hotel and Spa in
Cheshire, UK, between 1 and 5 September.
Patmos Aktis, a Luxury Collection Resort and Spa, has opened in Greece, with a renovated and
rebranded wellness offering called Ansana Wellness and Spa.
The Mauna Kea Beach Hotel, an Autograph Collection property in Hawaii, US, has opened its
22,000 sq ft indoor-outdoor Spa at Mauna Kea as the final step in the property’s overall
renovation, which has cost more than US$180 million (€166 million, £140 mill
The UK spa review and discovery platform for consumers, the Good Spa Guide, has announced
it will host the Good Spa Guide Awards 2026 during an event on 16 November at Sopwell House
Hotel in St Albans, UK.
Eighty-four per cent of consumers now say wellness is a top priority in their lives, with this
percentage increasing year on year, according to a preview presentation of McKinsey’s Future of
Wellness 2026 research report.
Mass protests have been taking place since Monday 1 June in Albania over the development of
a luxury resort by Donald Trump’s daughter Ivanka Trump and her husband Jared Kushner.
Global Wellness Day (GWD) marked its 15th anniversary on Saturday 13 June 2026, with the
theme: #JoyMagenta – a celebration of the healing qualities of simple gestures and activities
that spark joy.
