The Global Wellness Institute (GWI) has, for the first time, distilled its 15 years of research into the global spa industry to provide a concise overview of the sector’s performance from 2007 to 2022, along with future growth projections.

The time-series dataset is part of the GWI's new series of market snapshots covering the 11 wellness sectors tracked in its annual Global Wellness Economy Monitor report (last published in November 2023).

The recent time-series illustrates the fluctuations in the spa industry’s global revenue, growth rates and the number of spas around the world over the past 15 years.

The GWI last valued the global spa market at US$104.5 billion (€94.2 billion, £79.2 billion) in 2022 and projects it will be worth US$156.1 billion (€140.7 billion, £118.3 billion) by 2027.

State of play

Before the pandemic, the spa industry was experiencing robust growth, with revenues increasing at an annual rate of 7.7 per cent between 2007 and 2019, outpacing global GDP during the same period.

The number of spas worldwide more than doubled during this time, peaking at 169,369 establishments by 2019.

However, the industry faced significant setbacks in 2020, with global revenues plunging by 39 per cent and the number of locations decreasing by 5,600 due to the pandemic.

Rate of recoveryBetween 2021 and 2022, spa revenues steadily rebounded, nearing their pre-pandemic peak of US$113.8 billion (€102.6 billion, £86.2 billion), with a recovery to US$82.1 billion (€74 billion, £62.2 billion) by the end of 2022.

By the close of 2022, 86 countries had recovered or surpassed their pre-pandemic spa revenue levels, including the US, Canada, Switzerland, Australia and the UAE. While 131 countries had yet to fully recover, most had reached 80-99 per cent of their pre-pandemic levels.

The number of spa establishments also experienced a strong recovery, surpassing the 2019 peak and reaching 181,175 spas across 217 countries by 2022.

Looking ahead, the GWI forecasts an annual growth rate of 8.3 per cent for the spa industry between 2022 and 2027, with full recovery and growth expected by 2023.

Fresh findings to be unveiled at 2024 Global Wellness Summit

The GWI will release new data about the spa sector's performance in 2023 at the upcoming Global Wellness Summit in November, following the publication of the 2024 edition of the Global Wellness Economy Monitor.

According to the GWI, the spa industry isn't the only market poised for significant growth; the hot spring sector is also on a promising upward trajectory.

In addition to its spa industry overview, the GWI has published a second time-series dataset reflecting on the thermal/mineral springs sector’s performance between 2013 and 2022 – read more in the latest edition of the Spa Business Handbook.