Chennai: Wellness tourism, which continues to grow at a fast pace, is more likely to be the key driver of tourism economy.
An increase in awareness levels on complementary and alternative medicine, Ayurvedic spa, natural or Siddha diet and treatment is inspiring tourists to embark on wellness trips or engage in wellness activities.
Sources say weight loss and combating lifestyle disorders through Yoga has emerged as essential wherewithal of wellness trips. According to the Global Wellness Economy Monitor, wellness is the active pursuit of activities, choices and lifestyles that lead to a state of holistic health.
Globally, wellness sectors now represent a $3.7 trillion economy. From 2013 – 15, the wellness economy grew by 10.6 per cent while the global economy shrank by 3.6 per cent in US dollar terms.
Surprisingly, India figured among the top 20 spa markets in 2015 accounting for 4,734 spas, providing employment to 55,862, earning revenue of $1.46 billion.
The country was ranked 14th then. India is now ranked 12 among the top 20 wellness tourism markets as per the latest findings.
The bulk of wellness tourism is done by domestic tourists, driven by short-haul and weekend trips. This market is dominated by large countries, such as the United States, Germany, China, Japan, India, and France, which have large internal and domestic tourism markets in general. Domestic wellness tourism represented 83 per cent of all wellness trips and 67 per cent of expenditures in 2015.
However, international wellness tourism has been growing at a much faster rate than domestic wellness tourism from 2013-2015: 22 per cent growth in trips and 20 per cent growth in expenditures for international, as compared to 17 per cent and 11 per cent for domestic, says Global Wellness Institute.
While a comprehensive data on the wellness industry in the country or Tamil Nadu is yet to be made available, sources in the tourism sector say this genre is expected to grow faster than the medical tourism in the coming years.
The global Yoga market is estimated at $80 billion Indian Industry. The wellness market in India had a turnover of $13 billion in 2015, it is expected to grow at a CAGR of nearly 12 per cent to reach $ 23 billion by 2020.
