[Joyongjun's Manri Yodam] Let's Develop Wellness Tourism into a High-Value Industry

Global Wellness Tourism Market Worth 560 Trillion Won
Medical Tourism Spending 84% Higher Than General Tourism
Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism Establishes Wellness Tourism Foundation

The Park Roche Resort in Jeongseon, a wellness-specialized accommodation facility, benefited from COVID-19. In 2020, the total number of guests increased by 2.3 times compared to 2019. In 2022, it also rose by 11.9% from the previous year. Despite the significant decline in travel due to the pandemic, the surge in interest in health and healing kept travelers coming continuously. This is considered a clear example of the strength and power of wellness tourism.

Since COVID-19, the trend of valuing health and quality of life has become more pronounced, changing the paradigm of travel. At the center of this is wellness tourism. Wellness is a compound word of Well-being, Happiness, and Fitness, a concept coined in 1961 by American physician Halbert Dunn. It means pursuing a healthy life that ultimately increases life satisfaction by managing not only physical and mental health harmony but also environmental factors around us.

According to the Global Wellness Institute (GWI) in the United States, as of 2020, the global wellness tourism market size was $435.7 billion (approximately 560 trillion KRW), accounting for 16.2% of the total tourism market. Compared to the average annual growth rate of 3.4% in the general tourism market (based on 2013?2015), this is explosive growth. At that time, the average spending of wellness tourists was $1,601 for international tourists and $619 for domestic tourists. This is 35% higher for international tourists and 177% higher for domestic tourists than general tourists. Despite the high cost, wellness tourism products sold well. Even more surprising is the forecast. By 2025, it is expected to grow by $691.9 billion to reach $1.1276 trillion (approximately 1,454 trillion KRW), making it a blue ocean with an annual growth rate of 20.9%.

Medical tourism guarantees even higher revenue than wellness tourism. It has the highest added value among foreign tourist attraction sectors. The spending per medical tourist visiting Korea is $2,282, which is 84% more than general tourists ($1,239). Not only is the spending per person high, but the overall market size is also expected to increase rapidly.

Wellness can be approached from various fields such as health, medical care, food and shelter, culture, and lifestyle. Recognizing this trend, tourism powerhouses like the United States, Japan, Greece, and Turkey are aggressively developing wellness tourism products.

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Tourism Organization also view wellness as a new business opportunity. They have begun redrawing the blueprint for Korean-style wellness tourism through precise resource analysis.

They have also announced plans to merge the separately designated wellness clusters and medical tourism clusters into a converged cluster to maximize efficiency. By building clusters, it is expected that synergy effects can be naturally achieved through business linkage.

Legislation including provisions for certification systems for wellness tourism operators and programs, as well as training of professionals, is also being pursued. However, it is necessary to move away from uniform tourism courses merely labeled as wellness and shopping-centered ones. There is an urgent need for Korean-style wellness tourism programs that combine healthy food and beauty with cultural experiences, rest, and storytelling.

Post-COVID-19, Korean tourism stands at a new starting line. Nowadays, with an emphasis on work-life balance (Work-Life Balance), wellness tourism can become an important infrastructure in pursuing the public’s right to health and happiness.

Hopefully, the government, public institutions, local governments, and private companies will unite as one team and actively promote wellness tourism. Through this, it is hoped that the Korean economy will find a new path and the people will become happier.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.