Europe Wellness Tourism Market – Growth, Trends, Covid-19 Impact, and Forecasts (2023 - 2028)

Europe Wellness Tourism Market – Growth, Trends, Covid-19 Impact, and Forecasts (2023 - 2028)

Wellness tourism includes activities that are done to enhance a person’s physical, mental, and spiritual health. Activities such as yoga, spa visits, meditation, fitness regime, therapies, and detoxification are undertaken by tourists to maintain their well-being and improve relaxation. The COVID-19 pandemic had a negative impact on the tourism industry due to the restrictions and lockdowns across the world. After the easing of restrictions, the tourism industry picked up the pace and noted significant and rapid growth. Wellness tourism is growing at a rapid pace due to factors such as rising disposable incomes and the growing consumer interest in travel, health, and new experiences. The industry also observed an increased expenditure in the tourism sector by the government and other private vendors, which may have a positive impact on the wellness tourism market. According to the Centre for the Promotion of Imports from developing countries, Europe is the world’s largest wellness tourism market.

According to a study conducted by the European Parliament’s Committee on Transport and Tourism (TRAN), due to the impact of the pandemic on tourism, the overall contribution of tourism to the total European GDP halved, from 9.5% in 2019 to 4.9% in 2020. International tourism arrivals in Europe dropped by 70% in 2020 compared to 2019. However, in 2021, the industry made a fast and steady recovery. According to the World Tourism Organisation, Europe showed the fastest recovery during January-July 2022, with arrivals or tourists reaching 74% over 2019.

In recent years, due to busy working schedules and poor eating habits, people have experienced various lifestyle-related issues, such as stress, anxiety, obesity, and high blood pressure. Thus, such factors are boosting the wellness tourism market. The awareness about wellness tourism is increasing across the world due to its benefits to health and growing government investments to attract more tourists. Initially, hotels used to promote wellness services targeting only high-end customers. The changing demand pattern and the growing competition among hotel groups have encouraged the service providers to focus on the popular middle-class group with attractive, economical packages. This trend has resulted in the rapid growth of the wellness industry.

International tourism continued to show strong performance through July 2022, with arrivals reaching 57% of pre-pandemic levels in the first seven months of 2022. The Global Wellness Institute (GWI) started a Wellness Tourism Initiative to increase awareness, understanding, and opportunities in the market. Factors such as the influence of digital and social media platforms regarding various traveling trends also propel the growth of the market. Most of the market is occupied by secondary tourists who engage in wellness-related activities during their trip for some other purpose. This trend depicts an increase in the disposable income of tourists, thus driving the market for wellness tourism in Europe.

The European wellness tourism industry is moderately fragmented. Various key players are adopting creative and innovative strategies to expand their market shares and increase their regional presence in the market. With the adoption of new strategies, companies are attracting more customers and offering better value. Some of the key players in the market are Intercontinental Hotel Group, Marriott International, Hilton Worldwide, Hyatt Hotels, and Radisson Hospitality.

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