The non-profit Global Wellness Institute, the leading research organisation for the wellness industry, has released a new wellness policy toolkit that proposes a new concept, moving the focus from wellness tourism to wellness IN tourism.

This report presents policy ideas that move beyond the narrow goals of attracting luxury resorts and wealthy tourists to strategies that would bring more wellbeing to all—travellers, residents, and the destination. GWI also releases first compilation of wellness tourism market data, 2012-2027.

The objective of the toolkit is to merge wellness and tourism in the broadest possible sense and propose policy solutions that benefit all. It outlines various strategies that would enhance the quality of place for tourists, make tourism more successful and, at the same time, improve the wellbeing of both local residents and the destination. The report pinpoints six primary obstacles hindering the broader health and well-being advantages of wellness tourism and offers six policy areas for addressing these challenges.

“Wellness tourism does not exist in a vacuum and wellness travelers cannot be confined to a bubble,” said Ophelia Yeung, GWI senior research fellow. “For those who want to succeed long-term in wellness tourism, it is only logical to focus more attention on the wellness of the place—including the local wellness infrastructure, the wellness of its people, and the destination.”

Download the report here.