Global Wellness Institute research says the UK has the fifth largest wellness economy in the world
Sport and active recreation is the largest segment, followed by fitness and mindful movement
The physical activity market in the UK was worth £38.3 billion in 2022
This sector has expanded by 18 per cent since 2020 and is larger than pre-pandemic
A new research report from the Global Wellness Institute, called
The Global Wellness Economy: United Kingdom shows the industry has bounced back from the pandemic, with physical activity the leader of 11 defined wellness sectors.
Globally the wellness industry was worth
US$5.6 trillion (£4.2 trillion; €3.8 trillion) in 2022 compared with
US$4.9 trillion (£3.7 trillion; €4.4 trillion) in 2019. The GWI will publish new numbers at the Global Wellness Summit in November in Scotland.
At
US$223.8 billion (£169.3 billion; €201 billion,) the UK has the second largest wellness economy in Europe and the fifth largest in the world, says the institute.
Physical activity in the UK was worth
US$50.4 billion (£38.3 billion; €45.3 billion) in 2022, an uptick of 18 per cent from 2020. Pre-pandemic it stood at
US$43.43 billion (£32.8 billion; €39 billion).
Of this, sport and active recreation was worth
US$16.55 billion (£12.5 billion; €14.9 billion) fitness
US$8.01 billion (£6.1 billion; €7.2 billion) and mindful movement
US$1.04 billion (£0.8 billion; €0.9 billion)
Enabling sectors – which include apparel and footwear, equipment and technology – were worth
US$25.14 billion (£19 billion, €22.6 billion).
The 11 segments measured are public health, prevention and personal medicine; personal care and beauty; healthy eating, nutrition and weight loss; wellness real estate; traditional and complementary medicine; mental wellness; spas; wellness tourism; workplace wellness and thermal/mineral springs.
The Global Wellness Institute is a US-based non-profit organisation which conducts
global research for the wellness industry, introduces industry initiatives and organises events, such as the
Global Wellness Summit, bringing leaders and visionaries together.
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