Image: Ophelia Yeung, senior consultant at research institute SRI International, presents the Global Wellness Tourism Economy report at the 2013 GSWS in Delhi, India
The first of three Global Wellness Tourism Congress (GWTC) roundtable discussions scheduled for 2014 will be held in London on April 1.
Taking place at The Dorchester hotel, the event will gather representatives from the international travel and tourism industry and will explore the economic and social potential of wellness tourism
Expected participants include Visit England, the World Travel & Tourism Council, The Travel Foundation and the tourism boards of Spain, Portugal and Morocco – where the 2014 Global Spa & Wellness Summit will be held.
The event will include an analysis of the Global Wellness Tourism Economy report, compiled by research firm SRI International for the 2013 Global Spa & Wellness Summit (GSWS) in Delhi, India – at which the inaugural Global Wellness Tourism Congress was held.
The report revealed the booming wellness tourism sector to be a US$439billion (£264bn) market that, predicted to grow at nearly twice the rate of global tourism as a whole over the next three years, is expected to be a US$678.5bn (£408.1bn) industry by 2017.
Susie Ellis, president and chief executive of the GWTC and the GSWS, said: “We are thrilled to be continuing the discussions that began at the GWTC last year. The wellness tourism market is hugely important, both in terms of the dollars it represents and in its ability to encourage a more ‘well’ population in the countries that embrace this trend.”
source: http://www.professionalbeauty.co.uk / Professional Beauty / Home / March 12th, 2014
