As we navigate busy and challenging lives, finding ways to better support our health, balance and happiness has become increasingly important.
It’s why the wellness industry too, has grown in leaps and bounds, seeking to serve our desire for a well-rounded life.
This week Global Wellness Summit (GWS) has released its 2024 Future of Wellness Report, flagging changes in the business of wellness and also our evolving desires when it comes to engaging in them.
The report is supported by insights from the summit’s annual gathering of some of the industry’s top professionals alongside the Global Wellness Institute, an organisation dedicated to analysing the wellness space.
It finds this year more than ever, there is no one avenue or mindset that characterises the wellness approach. Instead, trends veer in numerous directions.
One interesting thing to note is two distinct, even contradictory, markets and mindsets have emerged. A more hardcore approach to wellness – think high-tech biohacking and expensive longevity clinics – and a softer, more gentler approach that holds up emotional and social wellbeing.
According to GWS, the global wellness economy reached $5.6 trillion in 2022 and is expected to grow to $8.5 trillion by 2027.
Here’s what the Global Wellness Summit Future of Wellness 2024 Trends report says will make its mark this year:
Climate-Adaptive Wellness
With global temperatures rising GWS predicts innovations to cool our bodies, homes and cities will continue to emerge in a bid to cope and counteract with the challenges stifling heat can bring.
It tips the likes of thermoadaptive clothing, architecture and design, urban planning and public health policies that address the heat as well as “cool-cationing” — or vacationing in cooler regions rather than the beach or opting for nighttime activities.
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. Expect this to change, with a new wave of solutions designed to help men reconnect with themselves and with one another. This includes retreats and apps and so-called “softer” forms of wellness that will serve as a much-needed catalyst for male connection.
The Rise of Postpartum Wellness
It has been acknowledged that following childbirth, new parents can find themselves in a care “desert” where all the attention is on the baby. GWS predicts new solutions will address the fact giving birth has a significant impact on the body as well and mental health challenges navigated by parents. From posh postpartum retreats, to new mental health apps, to C-section care products and pelvic floor care, the scope will be huge.
The Power of the Pilgrimage
With many of us discovering the joy of a simple walk during COVID lockdowns, more information continues to emerge about the good walking does us. It may be why more of us are embracing wellness retreats that take part in ancient pilgrimage trails. According to GWS record numbers of travelers are embracing multi-day hikes infused with spiritual exploration and cultural heritage in countries around the world.
Longevity Has Longevity
One of the biggest growth areas, longevity focus will continue to gain attention, with focus on proactive and preventive approaches to extend health and quality of life, rather than the reactive care that has long been a mainstay. Home-test solutions as well as highly-medical, high-tech and high-priced longevity clinics with advanced diagnostic testing will be even more visible.
A Wellness Check for Weight Loss Drugs
The GWS predicts the impact of new weight loss drugs Ozempic and Mounjaro will continue to be significant. The report indicates a number of new drugs are in development, with new, cheaper options also imminent. The report raises a number of questions around the popularity of these drugs, their long term health impacts and the likelihood of more wellness/health companies pivoting to prescribing them.
Sports Finds Its Footing in Hospitality
You might find your hotel or spa offering evolves from just a simple gym set-up, as social, empowering sports (like the explosion in popularity of pickleball) grow, and activity-centric resort concepts adapt as a response.
The Home as Highest-Tech Health Hub
Wellness-focused homes have been a trend for years, now they’re going to be even more high-tech, with everything from medical-grade home health-monitoring systems to smart furnishings that adjust in real-time to individual wellbeing needs.
A New Multisensory, Immersive Art for Wellness
GWS says wellness and art are being brought together in new ways to offer wellness benefits. For example, the Mandala Lab at the Rubin Museum in New York City that combines video, scent, sculpture, and sound based on Buddhist principles into one holistic, spiritual exhibit. Public spaces will benefit too, for example, AI-driven art in hospitals that utilise facial screening software to deliver audio-visuals based on your emotions.
Under the Radar
This trend signposts some approaches and ideas being brought up at the Summit that don’t form major trends yet, but may become more significant in coming years.
This included the ongoing importance of destigmatising mental health issues and creating new solutions, particularly for teens. The potential to lower age limits at wellness centers and spas, so teens can benefit from evidence-based healing treatments was raised.
Top level impact where governments embrace more innovative, powerful wellness policies is also said to be crucial. Singapore’s position as the world’s sixth Blue Zone, having dramatically improved its citizens’ health and longevity was mentioned.
