Top 10 Trends from GWS The Future of Wellness Report

The Global Wellness Summit (GWS) today unveiled its annual “Future of Wellness” report and Spa Life International is one of a select few attendees at the 2024 Annual VIP Press Event at JP Morgan Chase HQ in New York, which included the report launch.

The GWS trends report is the longest-running, most in-depth (120-page) forecast of the big trends that will shape wellness in the year ahead, and we look forward to sharing the latest information with our community in the days and weeks to come, and at our 2024 Conventions.

The report argues that significant shifts are underway in the wellness market. Generational, income (and gender) gaps are creating a wellness space increasingly defined by very different – even contradictory – markets and mindsets. The report calls the first market/mindset “hardcare,” referring to the newly hyper-medical, high-tech, even more expensive market. The second it calls “softcare,” reflecting new demands for a low-pressure, simpler, less expensive, less relentlessly self-optimizing wellness – where emotional and social wellbeing matter most. In the future, it predicts the polarities in the wellness market will only widen. 

TEN WELLNESS TRENDS FOR 2024.

Short descriptions of the ten trends are below, but our Newsdesk Team at Spa Life International will be providing more detail on each trend in subsequent articles via our #SpaNEWS pages, so make sure you’re signed up for the latest updates.

1. Climate-Adaptive Wellness: With an increasingly heat-crushed planet, we will see a new “climate-adaptive wellness”: a wave of innovations that can cool our bodies, homes and cities.
   
   
2. The Power of the Pilgrimage: A record number of new and revitalized pilgrimage trails worldwide are luring new generations to experience the most ancient, slow and spiritual form of travel.
   
   
3. From Manning Up to Opening Up: A cultural shift is finally underway: a rise in social and emotional wellness offerings for men to help them connect with themselves and each other–from dedicated retreats to apps.
   
   
4. The Rise of Postpartum Wellness: Following childbirth (which can bring significant physical and mental issues), new parents typically find themselves in a care “desert.” Thankfully, a new era of more comprehensive postpartum care is here–and it’s taking many directions.
   
   
5. Longevity Has Longevity: The speed at which longevity has seized the biotech, health and wellness spaces this last year is astounding. No mere “trend,” it’s the new industry pillar, with the longevity clinic the fastest-growing business genre–and the obsession with longevity and healthspan will continue to impact everything–from travel to tech to fitness–in 2024.
   
   
6. A Wellness Check for Weight Loss Drugs: The Ozempics upended traditional behavior-change weight loss businesses, who pivoted to prescribing Big Pharma’s magic “pricks.” The future? The wellness world providing (not in name only) more integrative, whole-health weight loss approaches, while creating “wellness companion” programs for drug-takers.
   
   
7. Sports Finds Its Footing in Hospitality: After decades of fitness meaning lonely solo sessions at the gym, more people are embracing social, empowering sports–and more also want to train like near-elite athletes. Elite athletes also want hospitality destinations that completely support their wellbeing and training. Hospitality destinations are finally answering the “sports” call with everything from pro trainers to pro-level facilities.
   
   
8. The Home as High-Tech-Health-Hub: Wellness-focused homes have long been a megatrend (all the meditation rooms and cold plunge pools). Now homes, and even cities, are becoming the highest-tech, multifaceted health-hubs–involving everything from medical-grade home health monitoring systems to smart furnishings that adjust in real-time to individual wellbeing needs.
   
   
9. A New Multisensory, Immersive Art for Wellness: If experiencing art has always been a passive experience, a new wave of experiences at museums, resorts and public spaces–powered by tech like generative AI and spatial sound–are turning art into a deeply multisensory, immersive experience, expressly designed to boost your mental wellbeing.
   
   
10. Under the Radar: GWS chair and CEO, Susie Ellis, explores some “under the radar” trends coming out of the recent Global Wellness Summit.

Our Newsdesk Team will be expanding on the report in subsequent issues of #SpaNEWS so be sure to share this with your colleagues who want need to stay up-to-date with the latest news.