Spa Industry Evolves To Embrace Wellness Trends

Spa markets in North America and Middle East-North Africa have exceeded pre-pandemic levels, driven by an embrace of wellness trends

The spa industry – a small but mighty part of the wellness industry – may have been clobbered by the pandemic due to its tourism ties, but the number of spa businesses has now exceeded pre-pandemic levels, and the industry overall is expected to fully recover and enjoy a projected annual growth rate of 8.3% from 2022 to 2027, according to a new forecast by the Global Wellness Institute (GWI).

The findings are part of GWI’s first-ever snapshot of the spa industry, reflecting on its highs (and lows) from 2007 to 2022 with projections for the future.

Here are some key takeaways from GWI’s spa market snapshot, including the evolution of traditional spas into otherworldly wellness experiences and how the spa is shaping up to become a supplemental preventive health space.

The Wellness Tourism-Spa Connection

There were approximately 181,175 spas in operation in 217 countries in 2022, generating $104.5 billion in revenues. As of 2022, spa markets in North America and the Middle East-North Africa regions have fully recovered and exceeded pre-pandemic levels, while most other regions are still at 90% or more of their 2019 peak. One outlier is the Asia-Pacific region due to prolonged restrictions and weakened economic conditions in 2022.

In 2021-2022, Middle East-North Africa had the highest spa revenue growth rates in the world (48% in 2021 and 50% in 2022) — the result of strong tourism, a growing local market and a rapid increase in the number of spas in the region (namely UAE, Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Israel and Qatar).

The Middle East may be experiencing a fitness boom , but it’s also becoming a place to reset and rejuvenate. Earlier this spring, Dior Spa opened its first location in Dubai at The Lana hotel, offering guests its signature treatments, stone massages and more.

Indeed, from 2020 to 2022, the hotel/resort spa sector added the most spas, making it the fastest-growing segment of the spa industry.

“Hotel/resort spas now have both the largest revenues and the largest number of establishments across all types of spas,” according to GWI, crediting the rapid growth to the rise in wellness tourism, which is expected to reach $1.3 trillion by 2025 .

Hotels featuring high-end spa services are also finding a way to enhance the experience with well-appointed aesthetics that include art, as seen with Italy’s Venice Venice Hotel and The Felix Anima, an exhibition spa that integrates immersive art with wellness. The Felix Anima offers guests a dedicated wellness area with an indoor pool, a Turkish bath and a treatment area for massages and aromatherapy.

New Modalities Enter Spa Culture

Trendy wellness modalities (such as sound baths, cryotherapy, infrared treatments and hyperbaric oxygen chambers) are being added to spa menus, but there’s also an emerging crossover of experiential wellness experiences that pull from spa traditions.

Wellness seekers in the Austin, Texas, area will experience a new take on spas with Submersive, an immersive 12-room spa bathhouse that promotes a consciousness-enhancing deep relaxation journey. Slated to open in 2026, Submersive guests will unwind in thermal pools while taking in art, video and sound. Multi-contrast bathing, steam and sauna rooms are also planned for the 25,000-square-foot space.

GWI also observes the emergence of exclusive wellness spaces in leading metro areas, finding clubs that combine opportunities for socialization and coworking alongside fitness and luxury spa experiences.

It’s a concept that Life Time has embraced with Life Time Living – luxury residences where residents can live vibrantly (and healthily) and receive complimentary access to Life Time’s high-end athletic country club, touting group fitness classes, pickleball, pools, a spa and a salon.

Perhaps most interestingly in terms of longevity , the spa has the capacity to transform into a preventative health space.

“Many consumers – especially wealthy consumers who can easily pay out-of-pocket – are beginning to turn to spas for diagnostics aimed at early detection, for managing chronic conditions, and for other types of health and nutrition coaching and support,” GWI found.

GWI doesn’t include new businesses and clubs that offer the same services as spas (such as exclusive wellness clubs, floatation businesses, etc) as part of its measurement of the spa industry, nor does it count at-home spa equipment consumer purchases as part of spa industry revenues.

For GWI’s full report on the spa industry, see the most recent edition of the organization’s Global Wellness Economy Monitor .

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