• American Express Reveals 2024 Top Travel Trends

  American Express Travel® released its 2024 Global Travel Trends Report[1] today, highlighting the inspiration and trends driving global travel bookings this year. The report, based on survey data from travelers in the United States, Australia, Canada, India, Japan, Mexico, and the United Kingdom, found that 84% of respondents plan to spend more or the same amount of money on travel in 2024 compared to last year. Additionally, 77% of respondents care more about having the right travel experience than about the cost of the trip.The four trends driving booking decisions are:· For the Love of the Game: Sports fans are planning trips around athletic events, whether it involves a favorite sport, a beloved team, or an international multi-sport competition· Planning Big: Major, expedition-style adventures, like a trip to the Galapagos Islands or trekking with the gorillas, deliver the transformative experiences that travelers are looking for· Going Solo: Travelers are takings trips alone, embracing the ease of planning and ability to tailor itineraries that are a perfect fit· On a Whim: With so much of life being structured and scheduled these days, people are seeking flexibility in their travel plans and leaving room for spontaneity“Travelers are focused on creating the right itineraries and building memories, whether that means booking a trip to see a favorite sports team compete or taking a once-in-a-lifetime expedition cruise,” says Audrey Hendley, President of American Express Travel. “Our Global Travel Trends Report sheds light on what is driving global travel bookings and provides inspiration for where to go next. Our American Express Travel Consultants can help, no matter what type of trip you want to take.”Top insights from American Express Travel’s 2024 Global Travel Trends Report include:· A desire to see sporting events live and to watch favorite teams and beloved players in person are driving where travelers are going and what they are doing when they get there.- 67% of Millennial and Gen Z respondents[2] (compared to 58% of all respondents) are interested in traveling for sporting events in 2024- 58% of respondents who are traveling for sports in 2024 will do so for soccer, basketball or Formula 1 racing- New York, Miami and Paris are the top destinations respondents are planning to travel to for sporting events this summer· Transformative, once-in-a-lifetime trips, like visiting the Galapagos Islands and hiking in Antarctica, are at the top of many travelers’ wish lists, and younger travelers want an expert to help them plan.- 65% of respondents are more interested in taking a major trip in 2024 than in previous years- 72% of respondents would rather save money for a major trip than spend it on going out with friends; and more than half of respondents plan on saving between 6 months to 2 years for a major trip- 58% of Millennial and Gen Z respondents want a travel agent or trusted advisor to help them book a major trip this year- 55% of respondents planning a major trip would consider visiting multiple countries in a region· The ease of planning and ability to make the perfect, personalized itinerary is driving people to plan trips alone, especially younger travelers.- 76% of Millennials and Gen Z respondents (compared to 69% of all respondents) say they are planning on taking a solo trip 2024- 74% of male respondents and 63% of female respondents say they are planning on taking a solo trip in 2024- 66% of respondents planning on traveling solo are planning a trip tailored to treat themselves- 60% of respondents planning on traveling solo this year intend to take two or more solo trips· Travelers are leaning into flexible itineraries, allowing them the freedom to be spontaneous and experience the local culture when they travel.- 78% of respondents say that spontaneous trips appeal to them77% of Millennials and Gen Z have booked a last-minute trip before, compared to 65% of Gen X[3] and 52% of Baby Boomers[4]- 68% of respondents agree that they like to leave unplanned time in their trip to experience local culture/activities- 57% of respondents prefer booking a last-minute getaway to a nearby destination rather than somewhere far awayAs the demand for travel continues into 2024, American Express provides eligible Card Members with exceptional travel access and experiences, including 1400+ airport lounges through its Global Lounge Collection®; expert Travel Consultants who can build dream itineraries for everything from major trips like an expedition cruise or safari, to quick weekend getaways; restaurant reservations through Resy and curated where-to-eat guides at Resy.com/Travel; benefits across global sporting experiences and venues; benefits at over 2000 hand-picked hotels around the world via Fine Hotels + Resorts® and The Hotel Collection; more than 1000 premium vacation rental properties via Select Homes + Retreats™, and more.The full American Express Travel 2024 Global Travel Trends Report can be viewed here. [1] Survey Methodology: This poll was conducted between January 31 - February 8, 2024 among a sample of 2005 US Adults, 1007 Australia Adults, 1002 Canada, 1002 UK Adults, 1002 Japan Adults, 1006 Mexico Adults and 1005 India Adults who have at least a $50k+ income equivalent and typically travel at least once a year. The interviews were conducted online. Results from the full survey have a margin of error of plus or minus 2-4 percentage points. Some geographies may be weighted with fewer variables depending on local census data availability.[2] Millennials and Gen Z are defined as respondents as being born between 1981 - 2012.[3] GenX are defined as respondents as being born between 1965 - 1980.[4] Baby Boomers are defined as respondents as being born between 1946 - 1964.

• The Global Wellness Institute Spotlights South Korea’s $113 Billion Wellness Economy

  The Global Wellness Institute (GWI), the leading nonprofit dedicated to research and education in the global wellness industry, has announced the addition of South Korea to its growing Geography of Wellness platform, through a partnership with Therme Group. A global organization committed to fostering inclusive urban wellbeing, Therme recently announced the location for its first Asia Pacific project as part of the Golden Harbor development in South Korea’s Incheon City. “GWI’s Geography of Wellness platform offers a detailed map of the wellness landscape, delineating the economic contributions of wellness-oriented businesses and activities specific to each nation,” said Susie Ellis, GWI chair and CEO. “South Korea, the world’s ninth largest wellness market, has demonstrated both growth and resilience, scaling from a pre-pandemic $99.6 billion in 2019, to a 5% dip in 2020 ($94.4 billion), to a valuation of $113 billion in 2022.” South Korea is not only thriving in its overall wellness economy but is also leading the charge in several specific categories, including ranking #6 globally in both physical activity and traditional & complementary medicine. The nation also secures the #8 spot worldwide in public health, prevention & personalized medicine, as well as workplace wellness—despite a slight dip in spending over the previous year in the latter sector— asserting its continued dedication to evolving workplace culture and public health initiatives. GWI assesses 11 key sectors within the wellness economies of 218 countries worldwide. South Korea has had notable valuation increases in virtually all sectors for 2022 (a new dedicated Global Wellness Economy: South Korea report is available for download.) South Korea Wellness Sector Annual Growth 2020-2022 with 2022 ValuationPhysical Activity: +11%, $29.68B Personal Care & Beauty: +3.5%, $24.87B Healthy Eating, Nutrition & Weight Loss: -0.5%, $13.49B Traditional & Complementary Medicine: +2.7%, $13.46B Public Health, Prevention & Personalized Medicine: +44.6%, $13.40B Wellness Real Estate: +16.5%, $8.37B Wellness Tourism: +11.3%, $5.43B Mental Wellness: +7.2%, valued at $2.86B Spas: +16.2%, valued at $1.55B Workplace Wellness: -3.6, $1.15B Thermal/Mineral Springs: +13.3%, $0.58B Living Well in South Korea Wellness in South Korea is a blend of centuries-old traditions and modern science and technology, in an environment rich in natural resources. Korean cuisine—with its vast variety of kimchi (fermented vegetables), banchan (side dishes), fresh seafood and vegan options—has already taken the world by storm. Wellness practices such as sauna and hot springs bathing, meditation, martial arts (taekwondo and taekgyeon), herbal and medicinal teas, acupuncture and moxibustion (a technique of burning herbal moxa cones to warm acupuncture points) are widely adopted for health maintenance and healing. Living well in South Korea today also means adopting modern fitness routines, accessing digital wellness tools, practicing skincare rituals, and accessing diverse cosmetic and beauty options popularly known across the world as K-beauty. Key Wellness Experiences in South Korea With its vast mountain ranges and surrounded by seas on three sides, South Korea offers a phenomenal natural setting for all types of wellness activities and holidays, from hot springs bathing, to hiking, to water sports; from mountain and seaside resorts to meditation retreats and temple stays. One can sample mountain herbs, temple cuisine, and traditional Korean dishes that can help promote blood circulation and warmth in cold weather. Its metropolises offer wellness amenities from spa and beauty to fitness, to traditional and complementary medicine. Visitors may want to try a mindful tea ceremony, or immerse in Korean bathing traditions at natural hot springs as well as communal baths and saunas, a social and family-friendly experience. Therme Group’s collaboration with GWI is pivotal in showcasing South Korea on the global stage. Stelian Iacob, senior vice president of Therme Group, remarked: “South Korea has rich and varied wellbeing traditions and a high-growth wellness economy. We are committed to enhancing the wellbeing of South Korea’s residents and visitors, and this research provides vital data for the industry. The research shows that people are rediscovering the health benefits of thermal bathing and wellness therapies, and we look forward to working with local partners to bring our unique wellbeing resort experience to the region.” To learn more about South Korea’s wellness economy, visit its dedicated Geography of Wellness page on the GWI website.

• Global Wellness Summit Releases 10 Wellness Trends for 2024

  The Global Wellness Summit (GWS) has released its annual Future of Wellness report, the longest-running, most in-depth (120-page) forecast of what will make waves in wellness in the year ahead. In the 20-plus years this trends team has been analyzing the wellness space, there have been more shakeups in 2023 than in the last decade. There certainly is momentum: the global market will grow from $5.6 trillion today to $8.5 trillion by 2027—with countless surveys revealing that wellness has never been such an important priority for people as now. But what kind of wellness matters—and for whom—is undergoing serious transformation. Generational, income, and gender gaps are widening in culture, and they’re creating a wellness landscape increasingly defined by very different—even contradictory—markets and mindsets. The GWS calls these polarized wellness markets “hardcare” and “softcare.” “Hardcare” describes the new hyper-medical, high-tech, even more expensive wellness market. “Softcare” captures the new desires for a low-pressure, simpler, less expensive, less relentlessly self-optimizing wellness, where emotional and social wellbeing matter most. This trends report illustrates how there is no longer one wellness narrative or unifying trend. The future is both “harder” and “softer” care, and that polarity will only widen. Themes in the report: More “hardcare”—from longevity clinics to weight loss drugs, medicine is muscling in: The speed at which medicine is invading the wellness market is astounding. One trend explores how the quest for longevity will continue to dominate the health/wellness space, with highly-medical, high-cost longevity clinics becoming the new business genre, offering everything from advanced diagnostics to stem cell treatments. Equally astounding is how fast new weight-loss drugs have upended behavior-change-focused wellness businesses, whether dieting platforms or resorts. Our trend analyzes these drugs’ impact, how wellness businesses quickly pivoted to prescribe Big Pharma’s magic “pricks,” and how the future is the wellness market delivering a healthier, more comprehensive weight-loss approach. More “softcare”—more low-fi, ancient, social, emotional, deeply human wellness: The media has been covering how younger gens (especially women) are pushing back against this last decade of high-pressure, uber-commodified wellness, and recasting true wellness as a messier, more joyful, simpler and cheaper affair. New desires for a simpler, more profound wellness drive one of our top travel trends of the year: how a record number of revitalized pilgrimage trails worldwide are luring new generations to the most ancient, slow, communal and spiritual form of travel. And if wellness has been complicit in clichéd views of masculinity (only focused on the physical), another trend explores how wellness will finally take a more human approach to men, with a wave of retreats, small groups, and apps focused on men’s social and emotional wellbeing. Wellness will tackle serious crises, from climate threats to women’s health: With temperatures breaking records each year, one trend explores a new “climate-adaptive wellness,” a surge in solutions that can cool our homes, cities and bodies. And since solving for grossly-ignored women’s health issues is now a heartbeat of wellness, another trend explores how desperately-needed innovation in postpartum care for new moms (and dads) is ahead—from post-birth retreats to new mental health apps. New tech, new wellness categories: Several trends illustrate how wellness technology innovation is going into overdrive. One explores how our homes are becoming high-tech health hubs, with everything from medical-grade diagnostic systems, to smart furnishings that make wellbeing adjustments in real-time. Technologies such as generative AI are also fueling a new era of “wellness art.” If experiencing art has always been a passive affair, a new wave of art experiences at museums, resorts and public spaces is turning it into a deeply multisensory, immersive experience, expressly designed to boost your mental wellbeing. TEN WELLNESS TRENDS FOR 2024: Climate-Adaptive Wellness With an increasingly heat-crushed planet, bringing massive physical and mental health risks, we will see a new “climate-adaptive wellness”: a wave of innovations that can cool our bodies, homes and cities. We simply cannot keep air conditioning more of the world: it’s erasing climate change progress. Cooling approaches—from the cutting-edge to the ancient—will be the burning issue in architecture and design. We’ll see more green space, tree cover, and rooftop gardens; high-tech building materials and heat-reflective paint for roads and roofs; and heat-fighting design from historically broiling places like the Middle East. Cities are re-thinking everything, building cooling centers and public pools, with many rushing to clean up their waterways to let people do wild swimming, an incredible line of defense. Smart-tech cooling clothing will go mainstream, as will wearables that monitor the body’s heat indicators, from core temp to hydration to electrolytes. There is even a new “climate-adaptive” beauty trend rising. Our baking planet is disrupting travel, with people moving away from traditional “hotspots,” trading beaches and deserts for mountains, the Mediterranean for Scandinavia, and summer vacations for fall or spring ones, in a move towards what’s being called “cool-cations.” So much will change in the traditional wellness space, from a new focus on hot/cold therapy’s role in the body’s thermoregulation to the rise of (cooler) “night-time wellness” programming at hotels and resorts, from star-gazing to full-moon yoga. The Power of the Pilgrimage One silver lining that came out of the pandemic gloom is that people all around the world rediscovered the simple joys and health benefits that come from walking, and a purposeful connection with nature. Today, walking enthusiasts are dramatically expanding their horizons by exploring ancient pilgrimage trails, fueling a global trend as record numbers of travelers take up multi-day hikes infused with spiritual exploration and cultural heritage in countries around the world. While nearly half a million pilgrims completed the famous Camino de Santiago in Spain in 2023 (a new record), scores of modern pilgrims were also drawn to off-the-beaten-path sites in Japan, such as the Shikoku 88 and the Michinoku Coastal trails, as well as buzzy pilgrimage destinations in Sri Lanka, Bhutan, India and Italy, all of which have undergone extensive restorations thanks to government efforts to promote holistic tourism. From a wellness perspective, this trend has serious legs: a pilgrimage is a metaphor for the path to enlightenment, engendering slow, meditative travel, and facilitating deeper engagement with our surroundings to foster a sense of awe. It also produces unexpected encounters with strangers that lead to a deeper perspective on the place of our “self” in a very big world. Savvy resorts are now looking to pilgrimages, offering wellness programs that incorporate journeys between sacred sites, participation in religious services such as meditating with monks or almsgiving, and providing access to ceremonies once attainable only after years of experience on the path to enlightenment. From Manning Up to Opening Up Wellness has long provided a space for women to open up, explore their emotions, and build community, but the same can’t be said for men. They’ve either been left out of the equation or, when included, the wellness offerings they’ve been served have reinforced a clichéd view of masculinity—from warrior-like fitness challenges to tough-guy biohacks. At the same time, shifting gender roles and a societal revolt against old-school masculinity have left men without a rulebook for what it means to “be a man” today. A cultural shift is underway. As the dire consequences of rising male loneliness are exposed, the wellness industry is responding with a new wave of solutions designed to help men reconnect with themselves and with one another. One example is the rise of men’s retreats like EVRYMAN and Junto, where unlearning stoicism and authentically sharing your feelings is the name of the game; another example is the new mental health apps designed specifically by and for men. In this trend, we explore how these so-called “softer” forms of wellness will serve as a much-needed catalyst for male connection. Looking further ahead, we anticipate that social and emotional wellness offerings for men will become more nuanced, more evenly distributed across all stages of life, and more global. The Rise of Postpartum Wellness Following childbirth, new parents typically find themselves in a care “desert”: all the attention is on the baby, and the medical system largely abandons them. While giving birth is a massive physical event, and new parenthood often entails serious mental health challenges, postpartum care has been grossly ignored. Change is here: a new, comprehensive postpartum wellness is now taking many directions. Cultures around the world have postpartum retreat traditions for the mom and baby (from Korea’s sanjujori to Latin America’s la cuarantena) that focus on deep rest, healthy food, baby-care education, massage and therapeutic bathing for the birthing parent. Increasingly, posh postpartum retreats are delivering precious days and weeks of postpartum recovery (at a price)—whether at Boram Postnatal Retreat in New York City or Kai Singapore. With postpartum depression rates rising globally, governments and corporations are taking action, while new apps are addressing the mental health of new parents (such as Mavida Health, offering a whole slate of therapy and counseling). More femtech startups are dedicated to postpartum care across the spectrum—from C-section recovery services to a boom in pelvic floor care products/services (so crucial to postpartum health). The wellness consumer goods market has exploded with options, from postpartum skincare to supplements, while brands are also destigmatizing sexual wellness post-birth. True postpartum wellness would mean a dramatic change in the current post-birth experience, with access to an integrated medical and wellness team that could deliver a holistic, empathetic approach to support new parents’ physical and emotional wellbeing, including education, proper nutrition, physical therapy and pain-focused therapies. The future needs to make what’s offered in the new, luxe postpartum retreats only a few can afford available to all. Longevity Has Longevity The speed at which longevity has seized the biotech, health and wellness spaces in the last year is staggering. No mere “trend,” it’s the new industry pillar, the lens to reexamine everything we do, and an entire interconnected “economy” pegged to be worth $610 billion by 2025. Driven by an aging population seeking a longer healthspan and a medical establishment still not focused on prevention, longevity is here for the long game and will only ramp up in 2024. So, we bring you two reports with different vantage points. The first, from Kenneth R. Pelletier, PhD, MD, clinical professor at UCSF School of Medicine, identifies the eight key areas of research driving the practical applications of longevity science—including personalized plans grounded in genetic, epigenetic and biomarker testing; research on senolytics (drugs that can remove senescent cells); telomere regeneration; nutrigenomics; and a new AI/GPT-driven healthcare. It provides a much-needed framework for what matters in what’s become a Wild West of longevity solutions. The second report explores the longevity boom from the perspective of the wellness industry, and how the highly-medical, high-tech (and high-priced) longevity clinic is the fastest-growing business genre, with over 1,000 clinics worldwide. Most offer advanced diagnostic testing (biomarker, genetic, hormonal, full-body MRIs, etc.), to identify issues before they become a problem, such as Fountain Life (whose heartbeat is AI-powered diagnostics) or Human Longevity Inc. (with genomics testing at its core). Others offer experimental, less-proven approaches such as stem cell treatments and plasma exchange—and the usual biohacking/recovery treatments (IV drips, cryotherapy, ozone therapy, etc.)—but now in the name of longevity. More high-end gyms (such as Saint Haven in Melbourne) are becoming full-blown longevity clinics, offering work-ups (preventative diagnostic testing, scans, etc.) along with their workouts. If wellness resorts have been more about “soul” than scans and stem cells, now a growing number are becoming highly-medical longevity destinations. Powerhouse medical-longevity players such as Spain’s SHA Wellness and Switzerland’s Clinique La Prairie are on the march, the latter planning 40 new urban “longevity hubs.” Soulful brand Six Senses is opening medical-longevity clubs (called Rosebar), with everything from epigenetic testing to stem cell therapy. More wellness resorts, like Italy’s Borgo Egnazia and Thailand’s Kamalaya Koh Samui, will embrace lo-fi longevity, offering Blue Zones retreats that get their guests connecting, cooking and moving like the people who live the longest in the world. In 2024, a further avalanche of clinics, travel destinations and tools will try to help you live longer and better. But we’ll also start asking some hard questions. About access: with uber-expensive clinics/solutions, are we entering a future where only the poor age? How can most people afford to live to 130? What is the impact of a “never die” mindset on our mental health and on the death-acceptance movement? A Wellness Check for Weight Loss Drugs The wellness industry was shaken up with the arrival of Big Pharma’s new, extremely effective GLP-1-inhibiting weight-loss drugs, the Ozempics and Mounjaros. They upended traditional behavior-change approaches to weight loss, recasting weight loss as a matter of biology rather than psychology and “willpower.” They quickly created challenges for behavior-change-focused businesses, whether dieting platforms, gyms, or wellness resorts. A big driver of the wellness market has always been weight loss, once more explicitly, and now more tacitly, as it became a dirty word after hard-fought body positivity gains. The new “magic pricks” quickly ripped open the weight loss Pandora’s box, and their impact on the world and wellness world will only become more intense in 2024. The number of people taking them has skyrocketed, resulting in ongoing global shortages. At least 70 new drugs are in development, with new, cheaper, very effective ones like Zepbound hitting the market this year. With people clamoring for the drugs, the trend covers how more wellness/health companies quickly pivoted to the (profitable) path of prescribing them, whether direct-to-consumer telemedicine brands like Ro or Found, or weight-loss platforms like WW (formerly Weight Watchers) and Noom. There is so much debate around the drugs and the companies making such moves. Proponents argue they could end the global obesity epidemic and save millions of lives; critics question their long-term health impacts, how they reinforce discriminatory ideals that “thin equals healthy,” and that, while they’re super-effective, they cannot deliver holistic health: exercise, healthy food, mental wellness, are still needed. In 2024, we predict the wellness world will start to interrogate how it could actually provide (not in name only) more honest, fully integrative, whole-health weight-loss approaches (spanning everything from nutrition coaching to fitness to mental health services to advanced metabolic health analysis), while also creating specific “wellness companion” programs for the drug-takers. The future: evidence-based methods that could help get people off these “forever” drugs and that specifically improve their health while on them. Sports Finds Its Footing in Hospitality After decades of fitness meaning lonely solo sessions at the gym, more people globally are embracing social, empowering sports (see: the pickleball explosion)—and more people want to train like near-elite athletes. At the same time, pro, collegiate, and even competitive junior athletes, constantly traveling to compete, have sorely lacked hospitality destinations that deliver wellness, recovery treatments and state-of-the-art gym equipment. It’s strange how much “sports” has been left out of the hospitality equation, but that’s now changing. Hospitality destinations are answering the call with everything from pro trainers to pro-level facilities—and if the global sports hospitality market was last valued at $4.75 billion, we think it will boom. More high-end wellness destinations are catering to recreational athletes who are serious about their sport, letting guests train and learn from their sports idols. Body Holiday in St. Lucia now features nine sports-themed months, led by pro athletes like NFL star Randy Moss and Olympians like Daley Thompson, Alix Klineman and Angie Akers, to let people up their running, swimming, and crewing game. In 2024, Aman Resorts is unveiling fitness, performance and recovery retreats led by five-time Grand Slam winner Maria Sharapova. New hospitality brands are squarely aimed at elite athletes, offering nth-degree wellness, fitness and recovery programming. Equinox Hotels plans 33 properties, and will next open in Saudi Arabia’s extraordinary Amaala wellness destination, with a pro-level gym, personal trainers, brain-stimulating tech to boost performance, and the full recovery menu, from cryo chambers to on-demand IV drips. Siro, a mind-blowing fitness and recovery hotel concept, opening its first property SIRO One Za’abeel next month in Dubai, optimizes everything (from rooms to food) for athletes of all levels, but is especially aimed at pros—from its vast gym designed by Olympic athletes to its incredible Recovery Lab. Sports tourism (people traveling to watch events) is a massive market, but more destinations are moving people from spectators to sports participants. The 2024 Paris Olympics will host a pre-Games marathon for regular folks so they can experience the thrill of the course. This summer’s Tour de France will, for the first time, open up new cycling routes near the course, so biking enthusiasts can jump in. Hospitality groups are thinking beyond “training like an athlete” and actually organizing competitive play: swimmers, runners, and tennis and pickleball players really want to compete with people at their level. So, in 2024, add a new category to the tourism lexicon: sports-meets-wellness travel. The Home as Highest-Tech-Health-Hub Wellness-focused homes have been a megatrend for years, with a big focus on amenities like meditation rooms and cold plunge pools. Now homes, and even cities, are becoming highest-tech, multifaceted health hubs. The shift is unprecedented, involving everything from the rise of medical-grade home health-monitoring systems to smart furnishings that adjust in real-time to individual wellbeing needs. In a post-pandemic era marked by increased time spent at home, health-at-home is taking bold new directions. The trend includes “Home Health Care,” where homes are becoming advanced “outpatient” care centers powered by digital health services—from fully-integrated telehealth to new health monitoring and diagnostic technology, reducing reliance on in-person interactions with practitioners. There is so much innovation in using M-health (mobile health) for home healthcare. For example, the just-released foneDX (from electronRX) uses existing smartphone sensors and a user interface app to measure a person’s critical heart and lung health right at home. In the next five years, 45% of healthcare services are expected to be delivered at home. Cities are becoming high-tech health hubs. In Saudi Arabia’s hotly-anticipated new smart city NEOM (unfolding in 2025), the futuristic healthcare system Dr. NEOM continuously collects health data from the population and houses it in a “digital twin” file of every resident. With this wealth of information, the system can precisely customize health and wellness interventions, and even predict health issues before they occur. It’s the city-as-wearable. Sensory-enhanced design is moving far beyond wellness concepts like feng shui and biophilic interiors. A new generation of textiles mean the very fabrics surrounding us at home will come alive as interactive interfaces. Companies like Getsound.ai and Endel are creating personalized bio-soundscapes grounded in our real-time biometric and environmental data. Our homes will ultimately evolve into multifaceted ecosystems, merging advanced nanotechnology and empathetic architecture to create living spaces that capture our biometrics to create environments dynamically extending from our own psyches. The home as high-tech health hub is a futuristic trend within the wellness real estate sector, the fastest-growing wellness market of all: now worth $398 billion and forecast to grow to $887.5 billion by 2027. A New Multisensory, Immersive Art for Wellness Art used to be a passive experience: you stare at a painting, or have lunch next to a sculpture garden. But no more. As newly tech-enabled artists—powered by innovations such as generative AI, projection mapping and spatial sound technologies—bring their craft to the mainstream, we’re entering an era of multi-sensory, wildly immersive art. Beyond a simple gaze, this next-gen art allows us to engage all of our senses and to participate, and is expressly designed to transform our mental wellbeing. Museums, hotels and spas are incorporating more and more multisensory art experiences into their offerings and, in doing so, are prioritizing wellness as an integrated offering. Case in point: the Mandala Lab at the Rubin Museum in New York City combines video, scent, sculpture, and sound based on Buddhist principles into one holistic, spiritual exhibit. At the Termemilano spa in Milan, Italy, a video skyscape of stormy skies surrounds a hydro pool, creating an unmatched moody vibe. Six Senses resorts are creating multisensory somatic experiences, like bio-alchemy sculptures infused with scents, flotation experiences suffused with ocean sounds, or geodesic domes with vibroacoustic floors. Multisensory, immersive art is becoming incredibly widespread in public places. From installations that dot cityscapes to AI-driven art in hospitals that utilize facial screening software to deliver audio-visuals based on your emotions. In the future, as adoption of wearable technologies becomes widespread, generative artworks will become even more hyper-personalized, participatory and therapeutically effective. Adaptive art will continue to take hold and push the boundaries of what sensory immersion and art-as-wellness can mean. Under the Radar At each annual Global Wellness Summit, delegates from around the world gather for four days of top-level insights. Because of its global nature and collection of diverse thought-leaders from the health and wellness world, it’s an incubator of new ideas. Many of these new ideas were the springboard for trends in this report, but GWS Chair and CEO Susie Ellis always notes interesting new directions also discussed that might be under the radar now but have the potential to become trends. This year, for the first time, Susie shares some of her emerging themes to watch. One key theme was for the wellness world to work harder at destigmatizing mental health issues and at creating new solutions, given the skyrocketing global rates of mental unwellness. Simone Biles’ keynote framed this huge issue, chronicling how mental struggles necessitated her withdrawal from the 2020 Olympics, and calling for a world where you could wear a “helmet on your head” to safely signal mental issues just as a cast does for a broken leg. The need for more mental wellness solutions percolated across the Summit. Amy McDonald (CEO, Under a Tree Consultancy) argued that with teens worldwide struggling mightily with mental health, we must lower age limits at wellness centers and spas, so they can benefit from evidence-based healing treatments, and properties like Qatar’s Zulal Wellness Resort have already risen to the occasion. There were very new ideas, such as Anjan Chattergee, MD, professor of neurology, University of Pennsylvania’s research into “slow looking,” how looking at an art piece for 15 minutes (rather than a few seconds) results in eye-opening impact on the brain. Another mega theme: governments embracing more innovative, powerful wellness policies. “Un-GDP” was discussed, with more governments moving beyond money-focused—in favor of quality-of-life—metrics to gauge national wellbeing. Through world-leading health/wellness policies, Singapore has dramatically improved its citizens’ health and longevity, which is why it was just named the sixth Blue Zone. This marks a new future of “Blue Zones 2.0,” where communities actively engineer environments that make it “natural” to make healthy choices. Keynote speaker Sophie Howe, the first Future Generations Commissioner for Wales, explained the crucial role policy must play in protecting the lives and health of those who will be born 50 years from now. Deborah Birx, MD, introduced the concept of “wellness diplomacy,” which could bring a divisive world together to collaborate on prevention. As for other things to watch? Dive into the other under-the-radar themes.

• American Express Reveals 2024 Top Travel Trends

  American Express Travel® released its 2024 Global Travel Trends Report[1] today, highlighting the inspiration and trends driving global travel bookings this year. The report, based on survey data from travelers in the United States, Australia, Canada, India, Japan, Mexico, and the United Kingdom, found that 84% of respondents plan to spend more or the same amount of money on travel in 2024 compared to last year. Additionally, 77% of respondents care more about having the right travel experience than about the cost of the trip.The four trends driving booking decisions are:· For the Love of the Game: Sports fans are planning trips around athletic events, whether it involves a favorite sport, a beloved team, or an international multi-sport competition· Planning Big: Major, expedition-style adventures, like a trip to the Galapagos Islands or trekking with the gorillas, deliver the transformative experiences that travelers are looking for· Going Solo: Travelers are takings trips alone, embracing the ease of planning and ability to tailor itineraries that are a perfect fit· On a Whim: With so much of life being structured and scheduled these days, people are seeking flexibility in their travel plans and leaving room for spontaneity“Travelers are focused on creating the right itineraries and building memories, whether that means booking a trip to see a favorite sports team compete or taking a once-in-a-lifetime expedition cruise,” says Audrey Hendley, President of American Express Travel. “Our Global Travel Trends Report sheds light on what is driving global travel bookings and provides inspiration for where to go next. Our American Express Travel Consultants can help, no matter what type of trip you want to take.”Top insights from American Express Travel’s 2024 Global Travel Trends Report include:· A desire to see sporting events live and to watch favorite teams and beloved players in person are driving where travelers are going and what they are doing when they get there.- 67% of Millennial and Gen Z respondents[2] (compared to 58% of all respondents) are interested in traveling for sporting events in 2024- 58% of respondents who are traveling for sports in 2024 will do so for soccer, basketball or Formula 1 racing- New York, Miami and Paris are the top destinations respondents are planning to travel to for sporting events this summer· Transformative, once-in-a-lifetime trips, like visiting the Galapagos Islands and hiking in Antarctica, are at the top of many travelers’ wish lists, and younger travelers want an expert to help them plan.- 65% of respondents are more interested in taking a major trip in 2024 than in previous years- 72% of respondents would rather save money for a major trip than spend it on going out with friends; and more than half of respondents plan on saving between 6 months to 2 years for a major trip- 58% of Millennial and Gen Z respondents want a travel agent or trusted advisor to help them book a major trip this year- 55% of respondents planning a major trip would consider visiting multiple countries in a region· The ease of planning and ability to make the perfect, personalized itinerary is driving people to plan trips alone, especially younger travelers.- 76% of Millennials and Gen Z respondents (compared to 69% of all respondents) say they are planning on taking a solo trip 2024- 74% of male respondents and 63% of female respondents say they are planning on taking a solo trip in 2024- 66% of respondents planning on traveling solo are planning a trip tailored to treat themselves- 60% of respondents planning on traveling solo this year intend to take two or more solo trips· Travelers are leaning into flexible itineraries, allowing them the freedom to be spontaneous and experience the local culture when they travel.- 78% of respondents say that spontaneous trips appeal to them77% of Millennials and Gen Z have booked a last-minute trip before, compared to 65% of Gen X[3] and 52% of Baby Boomers[4]- 68% of respondents agree that they like to leave unplanned time in their trip to experience local culture/activities- 57% of respondents prefer booking a last-minute getaway to a nearby destination rather than somewhere far awayAs the demand for travel continues into 2024, American Express provides eligible Card Members with exceptional travel access and experiences, including 1400+ airport lounges through its Global Lounge Collection®; expert Travel Consultants who can build dream itineraries for everything from major trips like an expedition cruise or safari, to quick weekend getaways; restaurant reservations through Resy and curated where-to-eat guides at Resy.com/Travel; benefits across global sporting experiences and venues; benefits at over 2000 hand-picked hotels around the world via Fine Hotels + Resorts® and The Hotel Collection; more than 1000 premium vacation rental properties via Select Homes + Retreats™, and more.The full American Express Travel 2024 Global Travel Trends Report can be viewed here. [1] Survey Methodology: This poll was conducted between January 31 - February 8, 2024 among a sample of 2005 US Adults, 1007 Australia Adults, 1002 Canada, 1002 UK Adults, 1002 Japan Adults, 1006 Mexico Adults and 1005 India Adults who have at least a $50k+ income equivalent and typically travel at least once a year. The interviews were conducted online. Results from the full survey have a margin of error of plus or minus 2-4 percentage points. Some geographies may be weighted with fewer variables depending on local census data availability.[2] Millennials and Gen Z are defined as respondents as being born between 1981 - 2012.[3] GenX are defined as respondents as being born between 1965 - 1980.[4] Baby Boomers are defined as respondents as being born between 1946 - 1964.

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  • Global News

  2024-03-14

• The Global Wellness Institute Spotlights South Korea’s $113 Billion Wellness Economy

  The Global Wellness Institute (GWI), the leading nonprofit dedicated to research and education in the global wellness industry, has announced the addition of South Korea to its growing Geography of Wellness platform, through a partnership with Therme Group. A global organization committed to fostering inclusive urban wellbeing, Therme recently announced the location for its first Asia Pacific project as part of the Golden Harbor development in South Korea’s Incheon City. “GWI’s Geography of Wellness platform offers a detailed map of the wellness landscape, delineating the economic contributions of wellness-oriented businesses and activities specific to each nation,” said Susie Ellis, GWI chair and CEO. “South Korea, the world’s ninth largest wellness market, has demonstrated both growth and resilience, scaling from a pre-pandemic $99.6 billion in 2019, to a 5% dip in 2020 ($94.4 billion), to a valuation of $113 billion in 2022.” South Korea is not only thriving in its overall wellness economy but is also leading the charge in several specific categories, including ranking #6 globally in both physical activity and traditional & complementary medicine. The nation also secures the #8 spot worldwide in public health, prevention & personalized medicine, as well as workplace wellness—despite a slight dip in spending over the previous year in the latter sector— asserting its continued dedication to evolving workplace culture and public health initiatives. GWI assesses 11 key sectors within the wellness economies of 218 countries worldwide. South Korea has had notable valuation increases in virtually all sectors for 2022 (a new dedicated Global Wellness Economy: South Korea report is available for download.) South Korea Wellness Sector Annual Growth 2020-2022 with 2022 ValuationPhysical Activity: +11%, $29.68B Personal Care & Beauty: +3.5%, $24.87B Healthy Eating, Nutrition & Weight Loss: -0.5%, $13.49B Traditional & Complementary Medicine: +2.7%, $13.46B Public Health, Prevention & Personalized Medicine: +44.6%, $13.40B Wellness Real Estate: +16.5%, $8.37B Wellness Tourism: +11.3%, $5.43B Mental Wellness: +7.2%, valued at $2.86B Spas: +16.2%, valued at $1.55B Workplace Wellness: -3.6, $1.15B Thermal/Mineral Springs: +13.3%, $0.58B Living Well in South Korea Wellness in South Korea is a blend of centuries-old traditions and modern science and technology, in an environment rich in natural resources. Korean cuisine—with its vast variety of kimchi (fermented vegetables), banchan (side dishes), fresh seafood and vegan options—has already taken the world by storm. Wellness practices such as sauna and hot springs bathing, meditation, martial arts (taekwondo and taekgyeon), herbal and medicinal teas, acupuncture and moxibustion (a technique of burning herbal moxa cones to warm acupuncture points) are widely adopted for health maintenance and healing. Living well in South Korea today also means adopting modern fitness routines, accessing digital wellness tools, practicing skincare rituals, and accessing diverse cosmetic and beauty options popularly known across the world as K-beauty. Key Wellness Experiences in South Korea With its vast mountain ranges and surrounded by seas on three sides, South Korea offers a phenomenal natural setting for all types of wellness activities and holidays, from hot springs bathing, to hiking, to water sports; from mountain and seaside resorts to meditation retreats and temple stays. One can sample mountain herbs, temple cuisine, and traditional Korean dishes that can help promote blood circulation and warmth in cold weather. Its metropolises offer wellness amenities from spa and beauty to fitness, to traditional and complementary medicine. Visitors may want to try a mindful tea ceremony, or immerse in Korean bathing traditions at natural hot springs as well as communal baths and saunas, a social and family-friendly experience. Therme Group’s collaboration with GWI is pivotal in showcasing South Korea on the global stage. Stelian Iacob, senior vice president of Therme Group, remarked: “South Korea has rich and varied wellbeing traditions and a high-growth wellness economy. We are committed to enhancing the wellbeing of South Korea’s residents and visitors, and this research provides vital data for the industry. The research shows that people are rediscovering the health benefits of thermal bathing and wellness therapies, and we look forward to working with local partners to bring our unique wellbeing resort experience to the region.” To learn more about South Korea’s wellness economy, visit its dedicated Geography of Wellness page on the GWI website.

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  • Global News

  2024-02-16

• Global Wellness Summit Releases 10 Wellness Trends for 2024

  The Global Wellness Summit (GWS) has released its annual Future of Wellness report, the longest-running, most in-depth (120-page) forecast of what will make waves in wellness in the year ahead. In the 20-plus years this trends team has been analyzing the wellness space, there have been more shakeups in 2023 than in the last decade. There certainly is momentum: the global market will grow from $5.6 trillion today to $8.5 trillion by 2027—with countless surveys revealing that wellness has never been such an important priority for people as now. But what kind of wellness matters—and for whom—is undergoing serious transformation. Generational, income, and gender gaps are widening in culture, and they’re creating a wellness landscape increasingly defined by very different—even contradictory—markets and mindsets. The GWS calls these polarized wellness markets “hardcare” and “softcare.” “Hardcare” describes the new hyper-medical, high-tech, even more expensive wellness market. “Softcare” captures the new desires for a low-pressure, simpler, less expensive, less relentlessly self-optimizing wellness, where emotional and social wellbeing matter most. This trends report illustrates how there is no longer one wellness narrative or unifying trend. The future is both “harder” and “softer” care, and that polarity will only widen. Themes in the report: More “hardcare”—from longevity clinics to weight loss drugs, medicine is muscling in: The speed at which medicine is invading the wellness market is astounding. One trend explores how the quest for longevity will continue to dominate the health/wellness space, with highly-medical, high-cost longevity clinics becoming the new business genre, offering everything from advanced diagnostics to stem cell treatments. Equally astounding is how fast new weight-loss drugs have upended behavior-change-focused wellness businesses, whether dieting platforms or resorts. Our trend analyzes these drugs’ impact, how wellness businesses quickly pivoted to prescribe Big Pharma’s magic “pricks,” and how the future is the wellness market delivering a healthier, more comprehensive weight-loss approach. More “softcare”—more low-fi, ancient, social, emotional, deeply human wellness: The media has been covering how younger gens (especially women) are pushing back against this last decade of high-pressure, uber-commodified wellness, and recasting true wellness as a messier, more joyful, simpler and cheaper affair. New desires for a simpler, more profound wellness drive one of our top travel trends of the year: how a record number of revitalized pilgrimage trails worldwide are luring new generations to the most ancient, slow, communal and spiritual form of travel. And if wellness has been complicit in clichéd views of masculinity (only focused on the physical), another trend explores how wellness will finally take a more human approach to men, with a wave of retreats, small groups, and apps focused on men’s social and emotional wellbeing. Wellness will tackle serious crises, from climate threats to women’s health: With temperatures breaking records each year, one trend explores a new “climate-adaptive wellness,” a surge in solutions that can cool our homes, cities and bodies. And since solving for grossly-ignored women’s health issues is now a heartbeat of wellness, another trend explores how desperately-needed innovation in postpartum care for new moms (and dads) is ahead—from post-birth retreats to new mental health apps. New tech, new wellness categories: Several trends illustrate how wellness technology innovation is going into overdrive. One explores how our homes are becoming high-tech health hubs, with everything from medical-grade diagnostic systems, to smart furnishings that make wellbeing adjustments in real-time. Technologies such as generative AI are also fueling a new era of “wellness art.” If experiencing art has always been a passive affair, a new wave of art experiences at museums, resorts and public spaces is turning it into a deeply multisensory, immersive experience, expressly designed to boost your mental wellbeing. TEN WELLNESS TRENDS FOR 2024: Climate-Adaptive Wellness With an increasingly heat-crushed planet, bringing massive physical and mental health risks, we will see a new “climate-adaptive wellness”: a wave of innovations that can cool our bodies, homes and cities. We simply cannot keep air conditioning more of the world: it’s erasing climate change progress. Cooling approaches—from the cutting-edge to the ancient—will be the burning issue in architecture and design. We’ll see more green space, tree cover, and rooftop gardens; high-tech building materials and heat-reflective paint for roads and roofs; and heat-fighting design from historically broiling places like the Middle East. Cities are re-thinking everything, building cooling centers and public pools, with many rushing to clean up their waterways to let people do wild swimming, an incredible line of defense. Smart-tech cooling clothing will go mainstream, as will wearables that monitor the body’s heat indicators, from core temp to hydration to electrolytes. There is even a new “climate-adaptive” beauty trend rising. Our baking planet is disrupting travel, with people moving away from traditional “hotspots,” trading beaches and deserts for mountains, the Mediterranean for Scandinavia, and summer vacations for fall or spring ones, in a move towards what’s being called “cool-cations.” So much will change in the traditional wellness space, from a new focus on hot/cold therapy’s role in the body’s thermoregulation to the rise of (cooler) “night-time wellness” programming at hotels and resorts, from star-gazing to full-moon yoga. The Power of the Pilgrimage One silver lining that came out of the pandemic gloom is that people all around the world rediscovered the simple joys and health benefits that come from walking, and a purposeful connection with nature. Today, walking enthusiasts are dramatically expanding their horizons by exploring ancient pilgrimage trails, fueling a global trend as record numbers of travelers take up multi-day hikes infused with spiritual exploration and cultural heritage in countries around the world. While nearly half a million pilgrims completed the famous Camino de Santiago in Spain in 2023 (a new record), scores of modern pilgrims were also drawn to off-the-beaten-path sites in Japan, such as the Shikoku 88 and the Michinoku Coastal trails, as well as buzzy pilgrimage destinations in Sri Lanka, Bhutan, India and Italy, all of which have undergone extensive restorations thanks to government efforts to promote holistic tourism. From a wellness perspective, this trend has serious legs: a pilgrimage is a metaphor for the path to enlightenment, engendering slow, meditative travel, and facilitating deeper engagement with our surroundings to foster a sense of awe. It also produces unexpected encounters with strangers that lead to a deeper perspective on the place of our “self” in a very big world. Savvy resorts are now looking to pilgrimages, offering wellness programs that incorporate journeys between sacred sites, participation in religious services such as meditating with monks or almsgiving, and providing access to ceremonies once attainable only after years of experience on the path to enlightenment. From Manning Up to Opening Up Wellness has long provided a space for women to open up, explore their emotions, and build community, but the same can’t be said for men. They’ve either been left out of the equation or, when included, the wellness offerings they’ve been served have reinforced a clichéd view of masculinity—from warrior-like fitness challenges to tough-guy biohacks. At the same time, shifting gender roles and a societal revolt against old-school masculinity have left men without a rulebook for what it means to “be a man” today. A cultural shift is underway. As the dire consequences of rising male loneliness are exposed, the wellness industry is responding with a new wave of solutions designed to help men reconnect with themselves and with one another. One example is the rise of men’s retreats like EVRYMAN and Junto, where unlearning stoicism and authentically sharing your feelings is the name of the game; another example is the new mental health apps designed specifically by and for men. In this trend, we explore how these so-called “softer” forms of wellness will serve as a much-needed catalyst for male connection. Looking further ahead, we anticipate that social and emotional wellness offerings for men will become more nuanced, more evenly distributed across all stages of life, and more global. The Rise of Postpartum Wellness Following childbirth, new parents typically find themselves in a care “desert”: all the attention is on the baby, and the medical system largely abandons them. While giving birth is a massive physical event, and new parenthood often entails serious mental health challenges, postpartum care has been grossly ignored. Change is here: a new, comprehensive postpartum wellness is now taking many directions. Cultures around the world have postpartum retreat traditions for the mom and baby (from Korea’s sanjujori to Latin America’s la cuarantena) that focus on deep rest, healthy food, baby-care education, massage and therapeutic bathing for the birthing parent. Increasingly, posh postpartum retreats are delivering precious days and weeks of postpartum recovery (at a price)—whether at Boram Postnatal Retreat in New York City or Kai Singapore. With postpartum depression rates rising globally, governments and corporations are taking action, while new apps are addressing the mental health of new parents (such as Mavida Health, offering a whole slate of therapy and counseling). More femtech startups are dedicated to postpartum care across the spectrum—from C-section recovery services to a boom in pelvic floor care products/services (so crucial to postpartum health). The wellness consumer goods market has exploded with options, from postpartum skincare to supplements, while brands are also destigmatizing sexual wellness post-birth. True postpartum wellness would mean a dramatic change in the current post-birth experience, with access to an integrated medical and wellness team that could deliver a holistic, empathetic approach to support new parents’ physical and emotional wellbeing, including education, proper nutrition, physical therapy and pain-focused therapies. The future needs to make what’s offered in the new, luxe postpartum retreats only a few can afford available to all. Longevity Has Longevity The speed at which longevity has seized the biotech, health and wellness spaces in the last year is staggering. No mere “trend,” it’s the new industry pillar, the lens to reexamine everything we do, and an entire interconnected “economy” pegged to be worth $610 billion by 2025. Driven by an aging population seeking a longer healthspan and a medical establishment still not focused on prevention, longevity is here for the long game and will only ramp up in 2024. So, we bring you two reports with different vantage points. The first, from Kenneth R. Pelletier, PhD, MD, clinical professor at UCSF School of Medicine, identifies the eight key areas of research driving the practical applications of longevity science—including personalized plans grounded in genetic, epigenetic and biomarker testing; research on senolytics (drugs that can remove senescent cells); telomere regeneration; nutrigenomics; and a new AI/GPT-driven healthcare. It provides a much-needed framework for what matters in what’s become a Wild West of longevity solutions. The second report explores the longevity boom from the perspective of the wellness industry, and how the highly-medical, high-tech (and high-priced) longevity clinic is the fastest-growing business genre, with over 1,000 clinics worldwide. Most offer advanced diagnostic testing (biomarker, genetic, hormonal, full-body MRIs, etc.), to identify issues before they become a problem, such as Fountain Life (whose heartbeat is AI-powered diagnostics) or Human Longevity Inc. (with genomics testing at its core). Others offer experimental, less-proven approaches such as stem cell treatments and plasma exchange—and the usual biohacking/recovery treatments (IV drips, cryotherapy, ozone therapy, etc.)—but now in the name of longevity. More high-end gyms (such as Saint Haven in Melbourne) are becoming full-blown longevity clinics, offering work-ups (preventative diagnostic testing, scans, etc.) along with their workouts. If wellness resorts have been more about “soul” than scans and stem cells, now a growing number are becoming highly-medical longevity destinations. Powerhouse medical-longevity players such as Spain’s SHA Wellness and Switzerland’s Clinique La Prairie are on the march, the latter planning 40 new urban “longevity hubs.” Soulful brand Six Senses is opening medical-longevity clubs (called Rosebar), with everything from epigenetic testing to stem cell therapy. More wellness resorts, like Italy’s Borgo Egnazia and Thailand’s Kamalaya Koh Samui, will embrace lo-fi longevity, offering Blue Zones retreats that get their guests connecting, cooking and moving like the people who live the longest in the world. In 2024, a further avalanche of clinics, travel destinations and tools will try to help you live longer and better. But we’ll also start asking some hard questions. About access: with uber-expensive clinics/solutions, are we entering a future where only the poor age? How can most people afford to live to 130? What is the impact of a “never die” mindset on our mental health and on the death-acceptance movement? A Wellness Check for Weight Loss Drugs The wellness industry was shaken up with the arrival of Big Pharma’s new, extremely effective GLP-1-inhibiting weight-loss drugs, the Ozempics and Mounjaros. They upended traditional behavior-change approaches to weight loss, recasting weight loss as a matter of biology rather than psychology and “willpower.” They quickly created challenges for behavior-change-focused businesses, whether dieting platforms, gyms, or wellness resorts. A big driver of the wellness market has always been weight loss, once more explicitly, and now more tacitly, as it became a dirty word after hard-fought body positivity gains. The new “magic pricks” quickly ripped open the weight loss Pandora’s box, and their impact on the world and wellness world will only become more intense in 2024. The number of people taking them has skyrocketed, resulting in ongoing global shortages. At least 70 new drugs are in development, with new, cheaper, very effective ones like Zepbound hitting the market this year. With people clamoring for the drugs, the trend covers how more wellness/health companies quickly pivoted to the (profitable) path of prescribing them, whether direct-to-consumer telemedicine brands like Ro or Found, or weight-loss platforms like WW (formerly Weight Watchers) and Noom. There is so much debate around the drugs and the companies making such moves. Proponents argue they could end the global obesity epidemic and save millions of lives; critics question their long-term health impacts, how they reinforce discriminatory ideals that “thin equals healthy,” and that, while they’re super-effective, they cannot deliver holistic health: exercise, healthy food, mental wellness, are still needed. In 2024, we predict the wellness world will start to interrogate how it could actually provide (not in name only) more honest, fully integrative, whole-health weight-loss approaches (spanning everything from nutrition coaching to fitness to mental health services to advanced metabolic health analysis), while also creating specific “wellness companion” programs for the drug-takers. The future: evidence-based methods that could help get people off these “forever” drugs and that specifically improve their health while on them. Sports Finds Its Footing in Hospitality After decades of fitness meaning lonely solo sessions at the gym, more people globally are embracing social, empowering sports (see: the pickleball explosion)—and more people want to train like near-elite athletes. At the same time, pro, collegiate, and even competitive junior athletes, constantly traveling to compete, have sorely lacked hospitality destinations that deliver wellness, recovery treatments and state-of-the-art gym equipment. It’s strange how much “sports” has been left out of the hospitality equation, but that’s now changing. Hospitality destinations are answering the call with everything from pro trainers to pro-level facilities—and if the global sports hospitality market was last valued at $4.75 billion, we think it will boom. More high-end wellness destinations are catering to recreational athletes who are serious about their sport, letting guests train and learn from their sports idols. Body Holiday in St. Lucia now features nine sports-themed months, led by pro athletes like NFL star Randy Moss and Olympians like Daley Thompson, Alix Klineman and Angie Akers, to let people up their running, swimming, and crewing game. In 2024, Aman Resorts is unveiling fitness, performance and recovery retreats led by five-time Grand Slam winner Maria Sharapova. New hospitality brands are squarely aimed at elite athletes, offering nth-degree wellness, fitness and recovery programming. Equinox Hotels plans 33 properties, and will next open in Saudi Arabia’s extraordinary Amaala wellness destination, with a pro-level gym, personal trainers, brain-stimulating tech to boost performance, and the full recovery menu, from cryo chambers to on-demand IV drips. Siro, a mind-blowing fitness and recovery hotel concept, opening its first property SIRO One Za’abeel next month in Dubai, optimizes everything (from rooms to food) for athletes of all levels, but is especially aimed at pros—from its vast gym designed by Olympic athletes to its incredible Recovery Lab. Sports tourism (people traveling to watch events) is a massive market, but more destinations are moving people from spectators to sports participants. The 2024 Paris Olympics will host a pre-Games marathon for regular folks so they can experience the thrill of the course. This summer’s Tour de France will, for the first time, open up new cycling routes near the course, so biking enthusiasts can jump in. Hospitality groups are thinking beyond “training like an athlete” and actually organizing competitive play: swimmers, runners, and tennis and pickleball players really want to compete with people at their level. So, in 2024, add a new category to the tourism lexicon: sports-meets-wellness travel. The Home as Highest-Tech-Health-Hub Wellness-focused homes have been a megatrend for years, with a big focus on amenities like meditation rooms and cold plunge pools. Now homes, and even cities, are becoming highest-tech, multifaceted health hubs. The shift is unprecedented, involving everything from the rise of medical-grade home health-monitoring systems to smart furnishings that adjust in real-time to individual wellbeing needs. In a post-pandemic era marked by increased time spent at home, health-at-home is taking bold new directions. The trend includes “Home Health Care,” where homes are becoming advanced “outpatient” care centers powered by digital health services—from fully-integrated telehealth to new health monitoring and diagnostic technology, reducing reliance on in-person interactions with practitioners. There is so much innovation in using M-health (mobile health) for home healthcare. For example, the just-released foneDX (from electronRX) uses existing smartphone sensors and a user interface app to measure a person’s critical heart and lung health right at home. In the next five years, 45% of healthcare services are expected to be delivered at home. Cities are becoming high-tech health hubs. In Saudi Arabia’s hotly-anticipated new smart city NEOM (unfolding in 2025), the futuristic healthcare system Dr. NEOM continuously collects health data from the population and houses it in a “digital twin” file of every resident. With this wealth of information, the system can precisely customize health and wellness interventions, and even predict health issues before they occur. It’s the city-as-wearable. Sensory-enhanced design is moving far beyond wellness concepts like feng shui and biophilic interiors. A new generation of textiles mean the very fabrics surrounding us at home will come alive as interactive interfaces. Companies like Getsound.ai and Endel are creating personalized bio-soundscapes grounded in our real-time biometric and environmental data. Our homes will ultimately evolve into multifaceted ecosystems, merging advanced nanotechnology and empathetic architecture to create living spaces that capture our biometrics to create environments dynamically extending from our own psyches. The home as high-tech health hub is a futuristic trend within the wellness real estate sector, the fastest-growing wellness market of all: now worth $398 billion and forecast to grow to $887.5 billion by 2027. A New Multisensory, Immersive Art for Wellness Art used to be a passive experience: you stare at a painting, or have lunch next to a sculpture garden. But no more. As newly tech-enabled artists—powered by innovations such as generative AI, projection mapping and spatial sound technologies—bring their craft to the mainstream, we’re entering an era of multi-sensory, wildly immersive art. Beyond a simple gaze, this next-gen art allows us to engage all of our senses and to participate, and is expressly designed to transform our mental wellbeing. Museums, hotels and spas are incorporating more and more multisensory art experiences into their offerings and, in doing so, are prioritizing wellness as an integrated offering. Case in point: the Mandala Lab at the Rubin Museum in New York City combines video, scent, sculpture, and sound based on Buddhist principles into one holistic, spiritual exhibit. At the Termemilano spa in Milan, Italy, a video skyscape of stormy skies surrounds a hydro pool, creating an unmatched moody vibe. Six Senses resorts are creating multisensory somatic experiences, like bio-alchemy sculptures infused with scents, flotation experiences suffused with ocean sounds, or geodesic domes with vibroacoustic floors. Multisensory, immersive art is becoming incredibly widespread in public places. From installations that dot cityscapes to AI-driven art in hospitals that utilize facial screening software to deliver audio-visuals based on your emotions. In the future, as adoption of wearable technologies becomes widespread, generative artworks will become even more hyper-personalized, participatory and therapeutically effective. Adaptive art will continue to take hold and push the boundaries of what sensory immersion and art-as-wellness can mean. Under the Radar At each annual Global Wellness Summit, delegates from around the world gather for four days of top-level insights. Because of its global nature and collection of diverse thought-leaders from the health and wellness world, it’s an incubator of new ideas. Many of these new ideas were the springboard for trends in this report, but GWS Chair and CEO Susie Ellis always notes interesting new directions also discussed that might be under the radar now but have the potential to become trends. This year, for the first time, Susie shares some of her emerging themes to watch. One key theme was for the wellness world to work harder at destigmatizing mental health issues and at creating new solutions, given the skyrocketing global rates of mental unwellness. Simone Biles’ keynote framed this huge issue, chronicling how mental struggles necessitated her withdrawal from the 2020 Olympics, and calling for a world where you could wear a “helmet on your head” to safely signal mental issues just as a cast does for a broken leg. The need for more mental wellness solutions percolated across the Summit. Amy McDonald (CEO, Under a Tree Consultancy) argued that with teens worldwide struggling mightily with mental health, we must lower age limits at wellness centers and spas, so they can benefit from evidence-based healing treatments, and properties like Qatar’s Zulal Wellness Resort have already risen to the occasion. There were very new ideas, such as Anjan Chattergee, MD, professor of neurology, University of Pennsylvania’s research into “slow looking,” how looking at an art piece for 15 minutes (rather than a few seconds) results in eye-opening impact on the brain. Another mega theme: governments embracing more innovative, powerful wellness policies. “Un-GDP” was discussed, with more governments moving beyond money-focused—in favor of quality-of-life—metrics to gauge national wellbeing. Through world-leading health/wellness policies, Singapore has dramatically improved its citizens’ health and longevity, which is why it was just named the sixth Blue Zone. This marks a new future of “Blue Zones 2.0,” where communities actively engineer environments that make it “natural” to make healthy choices. Keynote speaker Sophie Howe, the first Future Generations Commissioner for Wales, explained the crucial role policy must play in protecting the lives and health of those who will be born 50 years from now. Deborah Birx, MD, introduced the concept of “wellness diplomacy,” which could bring a divisive world together to collaborate on prevention. As for other things to watch? Dive into the other under-the-radar themes.

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  • Global News

  2024-01-31

• Halal Certification Achieved: The Farm at San Benito Commended by the Department of Tourism for Inclusivity

  The Farm at San Benito proudly has announced its recent attainment of Halal certification, marking a significant step towards becoming a globally recognized inclusive healing sanctuary. The Philippines’ Department of Tourism (DOT) commends The Farm at San Benito for its dedication to providing diverse and culturally sensitive experiences, creating a haven for all guests. “Having The Farm at San Benito as one of Department of Tourism’s partners in Halal and Muslim-friendly Tourism spells great news for the entire industry. The Farm offers a holistic wellness experience that is a reflection of our unique and vibrant national identity, and their efforts in keeping our Muslim brothers and sisters as top of mind is definitely commendable. We are hoping for more valuable partnerships, and for The Farm to be one of the flagbearers of the Filipino brand of Halal and Muslim-friendly Wellness Tourism,” said DOT Undersecretary Myra Paz Valderossa-Abubakar. In response to the increasing demand for Muslim-friendly destinations, The Farm at San Benito has not only achieved Halal certification for ALIVE! Vegan Restaurant but also as a Muslim-friendly accommodation destination offering villas for our Muslim brothers and sisters. The Farm aims to provide a harmonious balance between luxury, cultural sensitivity, and holistic well-being. The Department of Tourism, as well as the local government celebrate The Farm at San Benito's commitment to fostering inclusivity and applauds its innovative approach to creating a healing sanctuary for guests of all backgrounds. The resort's Muslim friendly certified villas stand as a testament to its dedication to providing an exceptional, culturally enriched, and inclusive experience.

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  • Global News

  2024-01-23

• The Global Wellness Economy Reaches a Record $5.6 Trillion—And It’s Forecast to Hit $8.5 Trillion by 2027

  How has the global wellness economy fared since the massive economic shocks of the pandemic? According to a new report released on 7th by the non-profit Global Wellness Institute (GWI)—the only authoritative, comprehensive source of wellness market data—the industry has made one powerful recovery. If the market was worth a record $4.9 trillion in 2019, and then shrank 11% to $4.4 trillion in the pandemic year of 2020, the research indicates that the wellness economy has seen recent, economy-defying momentum. It grew 27% since 2020 to reach $5.6 trillion, with 7 of the 11 wellness sectors now surpassing their 2019, pre-pandemic values. With consumers, the medical world, and governments now placing a much bigger value on prevention and wellness, the GWI forecasts that the wellness economy will grow at an impressive 8.6% annual pace through 2027, when the market will reach $8.5 trillion—nearly double its 2020 size. “We are surprised by the resiliency of the global wellness economy, and how quickly it has bounced back from the pandemic. It has exceeded our own expectations and forecasts,” said Katherine Johnston, GWI senior research fellow. “If the pandemic disrupted industry momentum in the short term, it has simultaneously created a dramatic shift in the long-term opportunities and trajectory for wellness.” “The Global Wellness Economy 2023” is packed with insights: numbers and analysis for all 11 wellness sectors, regional data, the top-20 national markets for each wellness sector, while exploring the major shifts and trends that will impact each wellness market in the future. The GWI has announced it will now release a Global Wellness Economy Report annually, at each Global Wellness Summit. Its “Country Rankings Report,” companion research providing market size, rankings, analysis, and per capita wellness spending for 150 nations, will be released on January 30, 2024.

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  • Global News

  2023-11-08

• The Global Wellness Summit Relocates 2023 Annual Conference to Miami, FL, Ensuring the Safety and Continuity of Event

  Hyatt Regency Miami The Global Wellness Summit (GWS), the most prestigious conference on the $4.4 trillion business of wellness, has announced the relocation of its highly anticipated, 17th annual conference. In light of recent developments and growing concerns surrounding instability in the Middle East region, GWS has made the difficult but necessary decision to relocate the 2023 event from Doha, Qatar to Miami, Florida. Despite the change in location to the Grand Hyatt Miami, the dates for the Summit remain unchanged, taking place from November 6-9, 2023. “The decision to move the conference to Miami comes in response to recent developments in the Middle East region and with the safety of delegates, speakers, team members, and partners in mind,” said Nancy Davis, chief creative officer & executive director at GWS. “This decision was made in close coordination with Msheireb Properties, our host sponsors in Qatar, and we appreciate all they are doing to make this transition as smooth as possible. We look forward to bringing the Summit to Qatar in the next couple of years.” GWS is grateful for the continued support and understanding of all stakeholders involved and looks forward to welcoming participants to the vibrant city of Miami. Delegates can expect the same robust three-day agenda, including in-person conversations with headliners such as Simone Biles, the world’s greatest gymnast, who will share how a focus on mental wellness is the key to her extraordinary resilience and success, and Grammy Award-winning producer and artist, Timbaland, who will share his powerful wellness journey. For more information or to register for the 2023 Global Wellness Summit, please visit www.globalwellnesssummit.com.

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  2023-10-18

실시간 Global News 기사

• GWS Releases In-Depth Trends Report, “The Future of Wellness 2021”

  Experts identify nine future wellness trends: from Hollywood jumping into wellness to the rise of spiritual architecture/design to adding “more color to wellness” to a new future for immune health—that stops “boosting” and starts balancing. The Global Wellness Summit (GWS) has released its top nine wellness trends for 2021, the new directions that the organization believes will have the most meaningful impact on the multitrillion global wellness industry. The trends were presented at a virtual press event attended by thousands worldwide. Forecasting trends in the fast-evolving wellness space is daunting every year. In 2020, we experienced a global pandemic, economic meltdown, racial injustice, polarizing politics, and a mental wellness crisis that changed every aspect of human life­­. The pandemic made wellness radically more important to people overnight, while COVID-19 exposed the terrible human cost for not controlling chronic, underlying conditions, radically strengthening the case for preventative wellness. At the same time, there was accelerated fatigue with a wellness industry overly focused on elitist, hyper-trendy, evidence-free wellness solutions—which suddenly feel “so 2019.” Wellness today is at a watershed moment. The trends report reflects how wellness is poised to take a bigger seat at the health care table (see “The Self-Care Revolution” trend). It predicts a future industry that will be more inclusive, accessible and affordable (see the “Adding Color to Wellness,” “The Entertainment Industry Jumps into Wellness,” and “Just Breathe!” trends). How it will basically “get real” and more evidence-based (see “The Future of Immune Health: Stop Boosting, Start Balancing”)—and tackle tougher, more crucial human pain-points (see” “Money Out Loud: Financial Wellness Is Finding Its Voice”). And the report also predicts how wellness will continue to rewrite vast industries, from travel, to architecture and design, to the meetings industry. This is the only wellness forecast based on the insights of hundreds of top executives of wellness companies, economists, doctors, investors, academics and technologists­ (from dozens of nations) that gathered in person and virtually at the recent Summit to debate where wellness was headed—making for a uniquely informed, global set of predictions. 9 WELLNESS TRENDS FOR 2021 1. Hollywood and the Entertainment Industries Jump into Wellness For wellness purists, any trend about Goliath TV, music and tech companies moving into wellness programming can cause eye rolls; it must be…inauthentic. But for anyone serious about “wellness for all,” more wellness experiences at Big Media platforms is a story of unprecedented access and affordability. The trend? Wellness will become a bigger, more meaningful programming focus in the TV and music industries, as Big Media digests the huge cultural force wellness has become. If wellness programming on TV (whether Oprah or the Goop Lab) has been about wellness as a topic you passively consume, the future is TV content and platforms that involve and impact you. Smart TVs are baking wellness “channels” onto their home screens: Samsung TVs launched Samsung Health, letting people binge 5,000 hours of free fitness/meditation classes from the buzziest brands. The future: smart TVs (like Apple’s) that connect to your health wearable (like Apple Fitness+) to serve up personalized wellness/fitness experiences right on your TV. Wellness companies are becoming full-blown TV studios: Mega-meditation-apps, Calm and Headspace, recently scored TV shows (HBO Max and Netflix), translating their meditative experiences into immersive television. Meditation apps with TV series? Unthinkable just two years ago. China is perfecting the marriage of wellness TV programming and e-commerce, and Waterbear Network is a new “Netflix” for climate activism. The ways that music is being created for stress, sleep, focus, a better workout, or just trippy, ambient bliss…has kicked into high gear. It’s a paradigm shift: If music has always been consumed around artist, song and genre, now it’s “serve me music-as-therapy.” Meditation apps are becoming big wellness music “record labels,” and more apps are launching specifically focused on music-for-wellbeing. Generative music technology—where your biometrics meet neuroscientist-designed sound—will take sound-as-precision-medicine to radical places. And not surprisingly, celebrities are now all over wellness, not just as spokespeople but as company founders, execs and major investors. The future: more collaborations between Big Media (who know a few things about high-quality, immersive content) and the wellness world (who has done a far better job than doctors in getting people obsessed with health). A trend that could impact billions of lives and feels awfully overdue. 2. The Future of Immune Health: Stop Boosting, Start Balancing We join many forecasters in naming immune health a 2021 trend, not only because we agree that it will remain a consumer obsession post-vaccine but because the main ways the wellness industry has been addressing it are…flat-out wrong. In 2020, people were blitzed with “immune-boosting” supplements, foods and therapies, but the idea that you can “boost” your immunity is unscientific nonsense, and “more boosting” is precisely the wrong approach. The future: approaches that lead to immuno-stabilization, immuno-balance. We will see more evidence-backed approaches to immune health, with m etabolic health, the microbiome, and personalized nutrition becoming crucial—along with more experimentation with everything from “positive stress” experiences to intermittent fasting for immune resilience. And immunity programs at travel destinations will go deeper, more medical, with interventions that matter more than “immune-boosting” menus and IV drips. After a long 2020, people are aware that their immune health is a holistic affair, that food and the microbiome are lynchpins, and that “slow” not “hyper” strategies are the difference-makers. People will keep gobbling trendy quick-fixes in trendy bottles, but they’re ready for more. A wellness industry newly focused on the hard—and fast-evolving—immune science could extend and save many lives. And help its own reputation along the way. 3. Spiritual and Numinous Moments in Architecture In recent years, a storm of studies has demonstrated the powerful connection between the built environment and our physical health, and a new “wellness architecture” sector has taken off, heavily focused on functional design moves, whether circadian lighting or air purification. What has been glossed over is design that can tap into and nurture our spirituality. In 2021, we will see new attention paid to creating everyday spaces that can incite sacred and numinous moments, that elevate our consciousness and potential, and ground us in gravitas in the midst of a mindless, consumerist society. Architecture and design will move up Maslow’s Pyramid, from our recent era of look-at-me, visually ostentatious fads like luxury McMansions to a new architecture reaching for the “Self-Actualization” tier—a built environment that can move our souls. Spiritual wellbeing is an inextricable part of a well life and rightfully deserves more design consideration and designated spaces in our homes, workplaces, communities and urban landscapes. The full report gives rich detail on examples, including thin places, ancient revivals, “nudge architecture,” and creating spiritual homes. 4. Just Breathe! Contrary to popular belief, you don’t need to know where your chakras are or what a didgeridoo sounds like to do breathwork. An increasing number of clinical studies from major universities like Harvard, Stanford and Johns Hopkins are putting science and data behind something we’ve actually known for centuries—the way we breathe has profound effects on our mental and physical health and abilities. It might even help us strengthen our immune systems. Practitioners are bringing breathwork to ever-larger audiences and pushing it into fascinating new territories, including rehabilitation, fitness, community building, and relief from chronic stress, trauma and PTSD. Cool, clubby breathwork parties and festivals are rising. There are even studies that point to breathwork as a possible therapeutic for one of the world’s deadliest diseases: hypertension. Perhaps the best part of all—this drug-free medicine costs absolutely nothing. The full report explores the people, the techniques, the places, and the new breath-tech pushing the practical magic of breathwork into exciting—and important—new directions. 5. The Self-Care Renaissance: Where Wellness and Healthcare Converge Over three hundred years after the first Medical Renaissance, we’re undergoing a new kind of medical renaissance where two complementary yet often competing entities—healthcare and wellness—will converge. Wellness is learning to lean into science, establish standards, and hold itself accountable. At the same time, healthcare is beginning to borrow from the wellness playbook—transforming a once sterile and strictly curative industry into a more holistic, lifestyle-oriented, and even pleasurable one. In this new era, hospitals will take inspiration from five-star resorts, yoga studios might measure improved telomere length, and prescriptions may be coupled with hyper-personalized guides to optimal health. As we look to a future where healthcare and wellness converge, an excellent example in the full report is Octave’s Sangha Retreat in Suzhou, China, which presents what we believe is next for healthcare and wellness. A kind of yin yang approach where two seemingly opposing forces finally discover that they can—and must—work together. As Dr. Kenneth R. Pelletier puts it, “Medicine is realizing that its roots have come from wellness traditions, and the wellness community is recognizing that not all doctors are evil.” 6. Adding Color to Wellness Graphic videos and the protests of last summer prompted many businesses to voice support for anti-racism. While diversity and inclusion have become a popular topic in the wellness industry, this trend argues that to generate substantive change, the wellness industry must recognize and address the false narrative that wellness is for affluent white people. It discusses how the industry can add color to wellness by valuing Black consumers and wellness professionals and describes the different ways that Black people actually experience wellness offerings and spaces, highlighting racial inequalities. This full report also provides insights into the future, illustrating how companies are changing the wellness narrative, and gives suggestions for how the wellness industry can add color to wellness. And it demonstrates that companies that value wellness for all racial groups and income levels will thrive as they expand their consumer markets and increase business innovation and profitability. Wellness enterprises that value diversity, respect Black wellness needs, and work to support more equitable access, represent the future of wellness. 7. Resetting Events with Wellness: You may never sit on a banquet chair again Around mid-March 2020, the pandemic brought in-person events to an abrupt halt. And no matter the power of technology and the gratitude we felt for Zoomed Wi-Fi connectivity, the world hungered for personal interactions. But there was a silver lining: A new trend that will forever change meetings and events was born, with wellness at the core. New hybrid events (in-person and virtual gatherings) sprouted like mushrooms after a spring rain. Technology companies raced to be the platform for hosting hybrid meetings. Investors threw money at tech companies, and within months of the pandemic shutting down most in-person-only gatherings, new companies had taken hold, and a new world was emerging. As the full report explains, the trend reinforces top-of-mind topics like health, safety and immunity and employs new protocols and technologies that mitigate risk in engaging ways. In 2021 and beyond, creativity is driving connection—and how we gather is taking on new—and healthier—meanings. 8. Money Out Loud: Financial Wellness Is Finding Its Voice Money has topped the “do-not-discuss” list for decades—right alongside religion, sex and politics. But it’s 2021, and transparency is trending. A culture craving authenticity is breaking the money taboo—transforming finance from a hush-hush, one-size-fits-all, cut-and-dry industry to one that’s more human, empathetic, and, dare we say, fun. This growing openness is being driven by a much larger mental health awakening. And with research linking financial stress to anxiety, depression, high blood pressure, respiratory conditions and more—it’s about time money is put under the microscope. This growing financial wellness movement is moving money talk far beyond the bank. Financial therapists are tackling the intersection between money and mental health, and the three billion views of #personalfinance content on TikTok prove that finance influencers are officially a thing. In 2021 and beyond, we’ll begin to see the end of financial systems designed to profit from our failure and the start of financial wellness awakening. Money talks. It’s time we start using a language everyone can understand. 9. 2021: The Year of the Travel Reset The coronavirus pandemic acted as a near-complete brake on travel in 2020. The pause gave everyone—consumers and suppliers—the opportunity to think about rebooting travel for the better by correcting overtourism, becoming more conscious of where our money goes, and how to use the enormous power of tourism to sustain cultures and environments and perhaps even leave them better off. Looking ahead, the year 2021 may be the year that all travel becomes wellness travel. From the manic travel of 2019, which was the ninth year of record-setting growth in travel, outpacing global economic expansion, 2021 will be the year of the travel reset, going slower, nearer and more mindfully. But travel will reset fitfully, mirroring the vaccination rollout, which has prompted optimism as well as tentativeness. The full trend explains the ways travel will be reset in 2021, including making travel regenerative, challenging overtourism, correcting undertourism, tentative travel, embracing nature, and putting purpose first.

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  2021-01-27

• Aman Announces the Launch of Aman Spa Candles

  Encompassing a global constellation that spans across 20 countries and with wellbeing at its core, Aman has offered its guests the opportunity to seek transformative experiences at its hotels and resorts in breathtaking locations since 1988. From jungle to desert, countryside to city, each Aman property welcomes its guests into a comforting and holistic space to connect body and mind. Drawing on the brand’s roots, destinations and the Earth’s vast apothecary, Aman continues its lifestyle journey with the launch of Aman Spa Candles. Echoing the three pathways of the Aman Skincare collection, which launched in 2018, the candles deliver exquisite scents that bring warmth and light, making it possible to escape the frenzy of daily life and enjoy the serenity of Aman from the comfort of one’s home. The inaugural range features three beautifully scented 220g candlesthat follow the Grounding, Purifying and Nourishing pathways inspired by Aman Spas and influenced by the varied landscapes of Aman’s destinations. Offering a distinct journey to wellbeing, the candles can be used individually or together to provide varying benefits such healing, soothing, energising or rejuvenating. From refreshing notes of floral rose to the sensuous spice of ginger, each Aman Spa Candle offers a unique scent – whetherseeking a moment of calm, comfort or invigoration. With a balancing base of rich and earthy sandalwood layered into each one of the scents, the candles have a total burn time of approximately 40 hours and comprise of a combination of natural and mineral waxes. Jet black in hue, the wax is individually poured into an elegant glass vessel, which has been blown and cut by hand. The Collection Grounding Spa Candle A soothing, calming candle Aroma Profile: Warm notes of ginger and a heart of jasmine encourage stillness and tranquillity Aromatic Benefits: calming, meditative, tranquillity Nourishing Spa Candle A nurturing, comforting candle Aroma Profile: Top notes of bergamot nurture and comfort, fostering a soothing atmosphere Aromatic Benefits: nurturing, comforting, soothing Purifying Spa Candle An energising, invigorating candle Aroma Profile: Floral layers of rose and geranium create a refreshing scent that works to energise and uplift Aromatic Benefits: uplifting, refreshing, energising Available for purchase online at the Aman Shop (shop.aman.com), in all Aman Spas and in the boutiques at every Aman property. Website: shop.aman.com

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  2021-01-05

• GWI Finds Mental Wellness Is a $121 Billion Market

  First research report to define, analyze and size the global mental wellness economy identifies and measures the four sub-markets: 1) senses, spaces and sleep ($49.5 billion), 2) brain-boosting nutraceuticals & botanicals ($34.8 billion), 3) self-improvement ($33.6 billion), and 4) meditation and mindfulness ($2.9 billion) The Global Wellness Institute (GWI) has recently released its major research report for 2020: “Defining the Mental Wellness Economy.” It’s the first study to define mental wellness as opposed to mental health and to clarify the key concepts and pathways. It’s also the first research to measure mental wellness as a global industry and to identify and benchmark its key sub-segments. The in-depth (115-page) report finds that the global mental wellness economy is worth $120.8 billion, based on consumer spend in four markets: senses, spaces and sleep ($49.5 billion), brain-boosting nutraceuticals & botanicals ($34.8 billion), self-improvement ($33.6 billion), and meditation and mindfulness ($2.9 billion). Mental wellness becomes a new “industry bubble” in the GWI’s Global Wellness Economy framework, capturing a crucial set of economic activities not previously included in the organization’s wellness economy measurements. “Stress, loneliness and burnout were exploding pre-pandemic, and a stronger focus on mental wellness has been a cultural mega-shift these last few years: People awakening to the importance of integrative solutions including meditation, sleep and brain health, with businesses rushing in to offer all kinds of solutions. But mental wellness as a concept, and what constitutes it as an industry, has remained incredibly fuzzy,” said Ophelia Yeung, GWI senior research fellow. “Clarifying what it is, and delineating its business segments, is overdue. And while most mental wellness strategies are free–like spending time in nature or with friends–people increasingly seek non-clinical help in coping with everyday mental challenges, and that’s where the mental wellness industry comes in.” Katherine Johnston, GWI senior research fellow, added: “There is urgency to this research: Study after study shows how the human suffering and economic dislocations caused by the pandemic have ravaged our mental wellbeing. We’re excited to release this study because people are desperate for alternative strategies to cope, and we hope it clarifies how important it is to promote mental wellness–and how businesses, governments and individuals can all play different roles in addressing a growing crisis." Defining Mental Wellness vs. Mental Health The GWI defines mental wellness as “an internal resource that helps us think, feel, connect, and function. It is an active process that helps us to build resilience, grow, and flourish.” The report provides a comprehensive paradigm for understanding the difference between “mental health” and “mental wellness,” impossible to replicate here. The authors propose a “dual continuum model,” in which mental wellness is a dynamic process of moving from languishing, to resilience, to flourishing. Key strategies for mental wellness fall into four pathways: activity and creativity; growth and nourishment; rest and rejuvenation; and connection and meaning. The Mental Wellness Industry: What’s Included & Why The research is the first to define the mental wellness industry: “Encompassing businesses whose primary aim is to help us along the mental wellness pathways of growth and nourishment and rest and rejuvenation.” Within those pathways, it identifies four sectors coalescing to form an emerging market: 1) senses, spaces and sleep, 2) brain-boosting nutraceuticals & botanicals, 3) self-improvement and 4) meditation and mindfulness. The report carefully explains what’s included in the mental wellness industry, what’s not, and why. The four segments were chosen because they’re the ones most closely identified by consumers and businesses as explicitly associated with mental wellness. It doesn’t include solutions that may be very beneficial for mental wellness but whose primary purpose is something else (e.g., fitness, healthy foods, arts and literature, pets), or anything in the medical arena (e.g., psychotherapy or sleep labs). The Mental Wellness Economy: Senses, spaces, & sleep–$49.5 billion The largest mental wellness sector, this category spans products, services, and design that target our senses and the mind-body connection, with the growing understanding that environmental stimuli have a major impact on our mood, stress levels and sleep. Sleep is the goliath sub-segment, with an exploding array of sleep- and sleep-environment-optimizing solutions, including smart bedding and sleep accessories; sleep apps, wearables and trackers; and sleep retreats and nap cafés. The segment includes sound (sound therapy, white noise, noise cancellation and wellness music); scent (aromatherapy, home fragrances and diffusers); touch (stress toys and gadgets and weighted blankets); and light (human-centric light and light therapy consumer devices). It includes multisensory experiences (from flotation tanks to forest bathing) at wellness travel, spa, fitness and entertainment destinations and sensory-based design and architecture (i.e., biophilic design and circadian lighting). Brain-boosting nutraceuticals & botanicals–$34.8 billion Ingestible products with the specific goal of improving mental health and wellbeing, including natural supplements, herbals and botanicals, and functional foods and beverages, are proliferating–claiming to boost brain health, sleep, memory and energy. The category also includes plant-based drugs increasingly used for mental wellness, with the legal cannabis and its derivatives market exploding in the last couple years, with cannabis, hemp, and CBD making their way into many supplements, foods, and beverages. The segment also includes psilocybin and other functional mushrooms, with the former seeing a rapid acceleration in clinical research for use for almost every mental health and wellness issue. A quickening relaxation of regulation means plant-based psychedelic drugs will increasingly be used for both mental wellness and clinical treatment purposes. For instance, in the US last week, Oregon legalized magic mushrooms and the District of Columbia decriminalized the recreational use of psilocybin and other psychedelics. Self-Improvement–$33.6 billion This segment spans a wide range of activities typically associated with self-help and personal development, including self-help books, media, video, apps and online platforms; self-help gurus and influencers; personal and life coaches; organizations delivering classes, workshops and retreats; self-help organizations and mutual support groups; cognitive enhancement and brain training products/services; and new, creative organizations, apps and online platforms combatting loneliness and isolation. Meditation & mindfulness– $2.9 billion While meditation and mindfulness are perhaps the approaches most firmly associated with “mental wellness,” it’s the smallest (if an extremely fast-growing) market, because while millions of people worldwide practice meditation, only a small fraction spend money on it. The category includes all forms of meditation practice, related mindfulness practices (e.g., breathwork, guided imagery, body scan, relaxation exercises), and products and services that support these practices. Key spending categories include classes, teachers, retreats, books and online platforms–with mobile apps (such as Calm, Headspace, Insight Timer) a huge driver of consumer adoption and spend. There is a growing market for meditation accessories (e.g., cushions, beads, chimes) and mindfulness products (e.g., journals, coloring books), as well as a fast-growing range of connected gadgets, trackers and monitors to support meditation (e.g., headbands, glasses, wearable sensors, lamps) – many of which build upon biofeedback, neurofeedback, and virtual reality technologies. The analysis of each of these four markets includes historical background and the modern evolution of the space, the key companies and market innovators, and business models and developments to watch. The full report is available to in-person and virtual 2020 Global Wellness Summit delegates; Virtual access (including access to all conference keynotes and panels) can be purchased anytime.

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  2020-11-11

• Speaker Line-up Confirmed and Agenda Finalized for October’s ‘World Fitness & Wellness Online Summit’

  Yet another world-class speaker line-up is confirmed for the ‘World Fitness & Wellness Online Summit’ on 7 October hosted by FIT Summit. The agenda gathers some of the world’s most successful fitness and wellness brands and leaders to share their insight, knowledge and vision. 45+ incredible speakers and 3,000+ guests from 40 countries are attending to connect, learn and inspire each other in this virtual conference and exhibition. Confirmed speakers include: - Adam Zeitsiff, Former President and CEO, Gold’s Gym - Brian Chappon, Founder and CEO, Centred - Christoph Bischoff, Chief Revenue Officer, eGym - Chuck Runyon, Co-Founder and CEO, Anytime Fitness - Dave Long, Co-Founder and CEO, Orangetheory Fitness - Dave Wright, Founder and CEO, Myzone - Diana Williams, Founder and Chairman, Fernwood Fitness - Emlyn Brown, Global Vice President, Well-Being (Luxury and Premium), Accor - Emma Barry, Author and Global Fitness Authority - Emma Darby, COO, Resense - Ethan Parker, Sales & Partnership Manager, Evolt - George Flooks, CEO, Fitness First MENA - Harry Konstantinou, Co-Founder and CEO, Viva Leisure - Hugo Braam, Co-Founder and CEO, Virtuagym - Jamie Waring, Managing Director, Octave Institute - Jarron Aizen, Founder and CEO, OneFitStop - John Stewart, Co-Founder and Chairman, Kamalaya - Jon Davie, Founding Director, World Gym Australia - Jorge Gomez, Partners’ Solutions Program Manager, GSIC powered by Microsoft - Julie-ann James, CEO, Aquababies Global and PABS - Justin McDonell, Chairman, Collective Wellness Group - Justin Musgrove, CEO, Leejam Sports Company - Karina Stewart, Co-Founder and Chief Wellness Director, Kamalaya - Katrina Pilkington, Wellness Expert and Educator, National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM) - Kirsten Potenza, Founder and CEO, POUND® - Kristen Green, Executive General Manager, Aquafit - Kristina Sy, Founder and CEO, Electric Studio - Marco Tarquini, Head, Hospitality and Residential (APAC), Technogym - Mel Tempest, Fitness Club Owner, Advisor and Influencer - Michael Jordan, CEO, 12RND Fitness and UBX Training - Nad Myan, Director, Growth and Innovation, Evolution Wellness - Nathan Clute, Co-Founder and CEO, Pulse Fitness - Nerio Alessandri, Founder and President, Technogym - Pete Moore, Founder and Managing Partner, Integrity Square - Peter Hull, CEO, Fitstop Australia - Peter Thew, Co-Founder, Yoga Movement - Philipp Roesch-Schlanderer, Founder and CEO, eGym - Rey Bolivar, CEO, Anytime Fitness Asia - Ronnie Cai, COO, Orangetheory Fitness China - Ross Campbell, Founder and CEO, FIT Summit - Sam Canavan, General Manager, Middle East and APAC, ClassPass - Selina Bridges, CEO, KX Pilates - Shai Ganu, Global Practise Leader, Executive Compensation, Willis Towers Watson - Teck Yin Lim, CEO, Sport Singapore - Yuki Kiyono, Group Spa Director, AMAN - Zoe Wall, Group Director, Spa (Asia), Minor Hotels For more details on the Summit, please visit https://thefitsummit.com/events/worldonline2

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  2020-09-24

• Urgent Statement by the Civil 20 to the G20 Virtual Summit on COVID-19: New Realities Require New Priorities

  The following is a statement by Civil 20: The events of this year alone, starting with the bushfires in Australia and moving to the outbreak of COVID-19, underscored the ever-growing complexity of our global shared challenges and expose the weaknesses of the current dominant economic system, and how it deepens inequalities between individuals and countries. We ask that G20 leaders recognize our new global reality and reorient this year’s G20 priorities towards building a more resilient global governance. G20 leaders need to uphold the principles of human rights, civic engagement, and democracy. As the crisis develops, the C20 observes with great alarm the continued deterioration of the situation for many vulnerable groups in different societies. Governments must protect and extend medical care to all people without leaving anyone behind. The infodemic surrounding the disease is equally fatal to the virus. The C20 stands in solidarity with communities suffering as a result of different governments’ lack of transparency. Governments are accountable in their response to the crisis, and work on empowering local communities and civil society actors in responding to the outbreak. We can learn from previous public health emergencies the importance of quality care continuum, protection of human rights, anti-discrimination and isolation of people living with the diseases and affected communities. COVID-19 is a sobering reminder that we need to increase investment in what we know works: strong international partnerships, building health care delivery systems that reach everyone, research and development, and an approach to care that prioritizes the most marginalized. The C20 urges that G20 leaders consider the recommendations in the statement on pandemic preparedness released jointly with the Business 20, Labor 20, Think 20, Women 20 and Youth 20. Another emerging lesson out of this emergency, is that hyper-globalization of our supply chains is making our trade systems extremely vulnerable to shocks. The C20 cautions G20 leaders against the ongoing attempts in trade agreement negotiations to open “health markets” to foreign investors and competition, turning health systems into yet another investment opportunity. We worry that the divide between those who can afford healthcare and those who cannot will be exacerbated. The C20 warns that inequalities will ensue as a consequence of the outbreak. Labor policies need to be put in place to address the needs of the most vulnerable, who cannot afford to sit at home, and prepare for the expected rise in working poverty, especially in countries with a high informal economy, where women are over-represented. The world is in need of multilateral coordination of an effective response to the economic crisis that provides adequate fiscal and monetary stimulus, while safeguarding liquidity from misuse by speculative activities. A fairly designed stimulus package should take into account not only the interest of businesses and SMEs, but also households, workers, and the most vulnerable. A problem with multiple dimensions requires a solution by multiple actors. Members of Civil Society and humanitarian NGOs continue to face tightened financial restrictions due to risk and cost aversion by banks in complying with FATF regulations. Such financial exclusion limits our ability to respond to global emergencies. We implore the G20 Leaders to take immediate action in responding to the substantial impact on education and the dwindling prospects of ensuring access. The world is entirely unequipped to maintain a promise of “education for all”; particularly in contexts where classrooms can no longer provide a safe environment for learning. The C20 calls on G20 leaders to expand this year’s G20 priorities to vigilantly respond to the changes in the labor market through expanding social protection systems, ensure digital and eLearning is accessible across, prioritize child online safety, address rising risks to debt sustainability in emerging markets as they face urgent financing needs to improve health systems capacity to respond to the COVID-19 outbreak, including debt relief and attending to their exposure to volatile capital flows. Civil Society 20 (C20) is one of the eight official Engagement Groups of the G20. It provides a platform of Civil Society Organizations around the world to bring forth a non-government and non-business voice.

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  2020-03-24