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Designed to be primers for policymakers, business people and researchers to understand the major force that wellness has become around the world and how it will evolve in the future, the Global Wellness Institute (GWI) has launched a series of white papers called ‘Understanding Wellness’.

Presented in clear and simple terms and backed by rich data, the research reports show how the US$4.2 trillion global wellness market is moving in multiple directions, answering the questions GWI’s researchers most get asked, namely: ‘what is wellness?’, ‘why is it growing?’ and ‘What does it really mean?’

The recently released first white paper, The Global Forces Driving the Growth of the Wellness Economy, examines the four macro forces that are propelling consumer demand and the ongoing, surging growth of the wellness economy around the world. Future topics will include important definitions and terminologies, a thorough history of wellness, and the wellness movement’s social and economic implications.

Ophelia Yeung, GWI Senior Researcher and co-author of the series, explains “wellness is a concept that is both ancient and contemporary. Because of that, most people have an intuitive understanding of what it means, how to apply it to daily life, or how to create business opportunities out of it.

“The wellness economy is now a $4.2 trillion global industry (and) we want to answer (common) questions because a common language for and basic understanding of wellness can help bridge the divide with other industries and disciplines and broaden its applications and impacts.” 

The white paper examines the four global forces that are driving the seemingly unstoppable growth of wellness. In recent decades, vast economic, technological, social, demographic, and environmental changes have transformed every aspect of people’s lives, with both positive and negative impacts on our wellbeing. The growth of wellness practices and businesses is fundamentally a consumer response to these developments, and this movement is turning into a major societal and economic force.

The Four Forces Driving the Wellness Boom:

1. The world’s population is growing sicker, lonelier and older. 
Deteriorating health, the spread of loneliness and mental illness, and the ramifications of aging all negatively impact people’s happiness and wellbeing. In response, consumers around the world are proactively turning to wellness approaches as alternatives to address these challenges.

2. The environmental crisis is also a health crisis.
Environmental degradation and its causes are bringing immediate, direct, severe and widespread harm to human health and wellbeing - from the air we breathe to how we procure and consume food to how we live and travel. As people become aware of these risks, they’re seeking out alternative lifestyles that are simultaneously healthier for themselves and more sustainable for the planet.

3. Health systems are failing to keep up while the economic burden rises. 
Health systems are failing in countries all around the world, and the economic burden is unsustainable. Therefore, it’s not surprising that consumers, employers and even governments are turning to wellness approaches to complement and address deficiencies in healthcare and to turn from ‘sick care’ to prevention.

4. Demographics, value systems and lifestyles are all evolving toward wellness. 
Consumer values are changing fast, moving toward a lifestyle of wellness that is fundamentally shifting consumer behaviours and consumption patterns. This shift is bolstered by the rise of the middle class, urbanisation, the accessibility of so many new options, and a burgeoning concern about the impact of ubiquitous technology.

Katherine Johnston, GWI senior researcher and co-author of the series adds over the last 11 years, our work has focused on defining and measuring the industries that comprise the wellness economy - and GWI has become the leading resource for wellness industry data.

“Through that work, we have built up a vast conceptual knowledge of wellness, its drivers, and its implications. We’re excited to present foundational information about wellness through this new white paper series.” 

2019 Global Wellness Summit
The Global Wellness Summit 2019 is to know be staged in Singapore rather than Hong Kong to Singapore. 

The event will now take place at the Grand Hyatt Singapore - and the conference dates remain the same - 15^th to 17^th October.

Click here to read the White Paper.

Click here for more information on the Global Wellness Summit in the Australasian Leisure Management industry Calendar.

Main image: Hepburn Bathouse's Moroccan Hamman.

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