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Openings such as Murrieta are fuelling the growth of the global hot springs market / photo: Bri Amato
The Global Wellness Institute (GWI) has released an overview of the global spa and hot springs markets from 2007 to 2022, along with growth projections.
The data is part of GWI’s new time-series reports based on the 11 markets tracked in its annual Global Wellness Economy Monitor (last published in November 2023 – see www.spabusiness.com/gwem2023).
Spa view GWI unveiled its first industry numbers in the Global Spa Economy 2007 report. Back then, there were 71,672 spas worldwide generating revenues of US$46.8 billion (€42.4 billion, £35.7 billion). In 2022, GWI recorded 181,175 spas globally with a value of US$104.5 billion (€94.6 billion, £79.6 billion).
The time-series report revealed the global spa industry was hit hard by the pandemic. Revenues plunged by 39 per cent in 2020 and there was a net decrease of 5,600 spas.
Despite this, GWI is optimistic about the market. Between 2021 and 2022, spa revenues steadily rebounded worldwide, nearing their pre-pandemic peak of US$113.8 billion (€103 billion, £86.7 billion).
Between 2022 and 2027, GWI projects a global spa industry growth rate of 8.3 per cent a year – compared to a predicted 4.7 per cent annual growth in global GDP – and estimates the market will be worth US$156.1 billion (€141.2 billion, £118.9 billion).
Hot springs in focus GWI gave its first overview of the thermal/mineral springs market in the 2014 Global Spa & Wellness Economy Monitor, observing 26,800 facilities in 2013, bringing in US$50 billion (€45.3 billion, £38.1 billion).
Before COVID-19, it was one of the quickest-growing segments in the wellness economy. It peaked in 2019 with 34,960 facilities and was valued at US$65.7 billion (€59.5 billion, £50.1 billion). However, thermal/mineral springs revenue also decreased by 39 per cent in 2020.
By the end of 2022, most hot springs businesses had recovered to 75 to 90 per cent of their pre-lockdown levels and the global market was worth US$46.3 billion (€41.9 billion, £35.3 billion).
Between 2020 and 2022, at least 150 new thermal and mineral springs establishments opened worldwide and more than 250 projects are now in development. What’s more, GWI predicts it will be the third fastest-growing wellness economy in the coming years – growing by 14.3 per cent annually from 2022 to 2027, amounting to US$90.5 billion (€81.9 billion, £69 billion) in revenues.
Read more from this issue of Spa Business magazine
View contents of Spa Business 2024 issue 3
Editor's letter: At a crossroads
As the UK prepares to host this year's Global Wellness Summit, fresh research shows its wellness industry must address a number of issues if it's to maintain levels of unprecedented growth
Spa People: Charlotte Church
The Welsh singer talks about how growing up in the media spotlight has influenced The Dreaming, her healing retreat business
Spa People: Julia Bradbury
Leading a series of Walk Yourself Happy retreats based on her best-selling book and years of TV presenting
Spa People: Samantha Dunn
Shaking up the industry with her new, affordable DIY consultancy programme for entrepreneurs
News report: Big spenders
Finn Partners’ latest research shows how China’s high-net-worth women are redefining luxury travel
News report: Step back in time
Two new GWI reports analyse the growth of the global spa and hot springs markets over the past 10 to 15 years
Interview: Dillip Rajakarier
Following a 450 per cent increase in core revenues, Minor Hotels is planning 200 more properties. Megan Whitby sits down with its CEO
New opening: Kintsugi Space
Patrizia Bortolin talks to Lisa Starr about creating a transformative women-only sanctuary in Abu Dhabi
Research: To inform and inspire
The UK Spa Association has conducted its first survey of spa businesses in the country for 18 years. GM Bobby Griffiths unveils the numbers
Research: From wellness to wellbeing
A new study uncovers four wellness consumer market segments ripe for innovation. WELLSurvey co-author Kevin Kelly reveals the findings in a Spa Business exclusive
First person: To the source
Jane Kitchen takes to the sulphurous waters of Terme di Saturnia in Italy and shares details about its exciting upcoming sister site in Milan
Promotion: L'OCCITANE en Provence – the art of recovery
With an approach to wellbeing that’s both holistic and grounded in science, the latest massage from L’OCCITANE en Provence promises to have a powerfully-beneficial effect on customers, both in the spa and at home
New opening: Surrenne at The Emory
The £15k memberships at this wellness club in London sold out in just weeks. Creator Inge Theron tells us why
First person: Playful wellness
A Stella McCartney facial and Tracy Anderson studio are just two USPs Megan Whitby finds at Surrenne
Promotion: TechnoAlpin – naturally cool design
TechnoAlpin’s snow technology is not only an effective way to introduce gentle cold therapy into the spa environment, it’s also a powerful biophilic design element that can bring the wonder of nature indoors
Promotion: Biologique Recherche – potent partnership
A new anti-senescence serum from Biologique Recherche offers transformative results and raises the bar in anti-ageing skincare when combined with its iconic collagen formula
Promotion: Comfort Zone – A longer life for skin
Created to combat the visible signs of ageing, Comfort Zone’s latest range revamp is based on the company’s pioneering research into cutaneous cellular longevity
Promotion: G.M. COLLIN – Clinical excellence in skincare
With laboratories based in Montreal, G.M. Collin’s highly researched derma-corrective treatments have been helping skincare professionals deliver exceptional and exclusive results worldwide for many decades. We talk to VP Myriam Sayer
Openings such as Murrieta are fuelling the growth of the global hot springs market / photo: Bri Amato
The Global Wellness Institute (GWI) has released an overview of the global spa and hot springs markets from 2007 to 2022, along with growth projections.
The data is part of GWI’s new time-series reports based on the 11 markets tracked in its annual Global Wellness Economy Monitor (last published in November 2023 – see www.spabusiness.com/gwem2023).
Spa view GWI unveiled its first industry numbers in the Global Spa Economy 2007 report. Back then, there were 71,672 spas worldwide generating revenues of US$46.8 billion (€42.4 billion, £35.7 billion). In 2022, GWI recorded 181,175 spas globally with a value of US$104.5 billion (€94.6 billion, £79.6 billion).
The time-series report revealed the global spa industry was hit hard by the pandemic. Revenues plunged by 39 per cent in 2020 and there was a net decrease of 5,600 spas.
Despite this, GWI is optimistic about the market. Between 2021 and 2022, spa revenues steadily rebounded worldwide, nearing their pre-pandemic peak of US$113.8 billion (€103 billion, £86.7 billion).
Between 2022 and 2027, GWI projects a global spa industry growth rate of 8.3 per cent a year – compared to a predicted 4.7 per cent annual growth in global GDP – and estimates the market will be worth US$156.1 billion (€141.2 billion, £118.9 billion).
Hot springs in focus GWI gave its first overview of the thermal/mineral springs market in the 2014 Global Spa & Wellness Economy Monitor, observing 26,800 facilities in 2013, bringing in US$50 billion (€45.3 billion, £38.1 billion).
Before COVID-19, it was one of the quickest-growing segments in the wellness economy. It peaked in 2019 with 34,960 facilities and was valued at US$65.7 billion (€59.5 billion, £50.1 billion). However, thermal/mineral springs revenue also decreased by 39 per cent in 2020.
By the end of 2022, most hot springs businesses had recovered to 75 to 90 per cent of their pre-lockdown levels and the global market was worth US$46.3 billion (€41.9 billion, £35.3 billion).
Between 2020 and 2022, at least 150 new thermal and mineral springs establishments opened worldwide and more than 250 projects are now in development. What’s more, GWI predicts it will be the third fastest-growing wellness economy in the coming years – growing by 14.3 per cent annually from 2022 to 2027, amounting to US$90.5 billion (€81.9 billion, £69 billion) in revenues.
Read more from this issue of Spa Business magazine
View contents of Spa Business 2024 issue 3
Editor's letter: At a crossroads
As the UK prepares to host this year's Global Wellness Summit, fresh research shows its wellness industry must address a number of issues if it's to maintain levels of unprecedented growth
Spa People: Charlotte Church
The Welsh singer talks about how growing up in the media spotlight has influenced The Dreaming, her healing retreat business
Spa People: Julia Bradbury
Leading a series of Walk Yourself Happy retreats based on her best-selling book and years of TV presenting
Spa People: Samantha Dunn
Shaking up the industry with her new, affordable DIY consultancy programme for entrepreneurs
News report: Big spenders
Finn Partners’ latest research shows how China’s high-net-worth women are redefining luxury travel
News report: Step back in time
Two new GWI reports analyse the growth of the global spa and hot springs markets over the past 10 to 15 years
Interview: Dillip Rajakarier
Following a 450 per cent increase in core revenues, Minor Hotels is planning 200 more properties. Megan Whitby sits down with its CEO
New opening: Kintsugi Space
Patrizia Bortolin talks to Lisa Starr about creating a transformative women-only sanctuary in Abu Dhabi
Research: To inform and inspire
The UK Spa Association has conducted its first survey of spa businesses in the country for 18 years. GM Bobby Griffiths unveils the numbers
Research: From wellness to wellbeing
A new study uncovers four wellness consumer market segments ripe for innovation. WELLSurvey co-author Kevin Kelly reveals the findings in a Spa Business exclusive
First person: To the source
Jane Kitchen takes to the sulphurous waters of Terme di Saturnia in Italy and shares details about its exciting upcoming sister site in Milan
Promotion: L'OCCITANE en Provence – the art of recovery
With an approach to wellbeing that’s both holistic and grounded in science, the latest massage from L’OCCITANE en Provence promises to have a powerfully-beneficial effect on customers, both in the spa and at home
New opening: Surrenne at The Emory
The £15k memberships at this wellness club in London sold out in just weeks. Creator Inge Theron tells us why
First person: Playful wellness
A Stella McCartney facial and Tracy Anderson studio are just two USPs Megan Whitby finds at Surrenne
Promotion: TechnoAlpin – naturally cool design
TechnoAlpin’s snow technology is not only an effective way to introduce gentle cold therapy into the spa environment, it’s also a powerful biophilic design element that can bring the wonder of nature indoors
Promotion: Biologique Recherche – potent partnership
A new anti-senescence serum from Biologique Recherche offers transformative results and raises the bar in anti-ageing skincare when combined with its iconic collagen formula
Promotion: Comfort Zone – A longer life for skin
Created to combat the visible signs of ageing, Comfort Zone’s latest range revamp is based on the company’s pioneering research into cutaneous cellular longevity
Promotion: G.M. COLLIN – Clinical excellence in skincare
With laboratories based in Montreal, G.M. Collin’s highly researched derma-corrective treatments have been helping skincare professionals deliver exceptional and exclusive results worldwide for many decades. We talk to VP Myriam Sayer
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.
