4.3 trillion dollars, a Scrooge figure. That’s the sum that indicates how much the world wellness market is worth, according to data from the Global Wellness Institute, the organization that promotes wellness around the world. Each year the group schedules a meeting, the Global Wellness Summit(globalwellnessummit.com), where they shed light on what’s new, define trends, and possible applications. At the last summit in Singapore, eight guidelines were outlined covering nature, fashion, travel and a taboo topic, which in this case is not predictable sex, but departure.
The eight trends on which the congress focused:
1. Well Fashion

It opens up a world of new meanings for clothes that will be even more sustainable, ethical, smart. Among the new features is a system called “active well clothing,” through which we will wear clothes that self-clean, heal or moisturize the body or express the wearer’s mood. The seaweed used in VivoBarefoot’s shoes helps the environment, the bioceramics in Underarmour’s pajamas promote sleep, and the Kitx brand uses Ayurvedic recipes to dye garments and make them antibacterial. There will also be a focus on platforms for second-hand clothes and clothes that are sorted and made-to-order.
2. Wellness will win over mass tourism

“Beautiful, but too many people,” one of the constants of mass tourism that does not bring prosperity to either tourists or locals, the solutions hypothesized at the summit to improve the situation are twofold: the first is to push toward lesser-known but no less interesting destinations and better distribute the flow of tourists.

The second will be wellness tourism in two forms: an agreement between spas and the government (as in Slovenia) will allow for new itineraries and proposals. The second will promote a “tourism” in the city: it is no longer necessary to run away to feel good, places will be found in the city where well-being will be like a journey. The best-known wellness groups, born in natural paradises, will design their own city facilities: Aman is already in Tokyo, Six Senses recently opened in Singapore, and, in 2020, they will also be in New York. Fivelements is designing an urban SPA in Hong Kong.
3. Meditation for all
As per the predictions of last year’s summit, meditation remained a central focus in the quest for wellness and will be presented in a variety of techniques. Like yoga with its different schools, so meditation will offer more and more facets so that one can find the right one for everyone; meditation and mindfulness, in fact, do not refer to the same practice, they are about three levels that result in different practices with different impact on the brain and different benefits: Focused Attention, Observation and Transcendental Meditation, the report explains. What you will be able to experience will be dynamic meditation, Kundalini yoga, mindful fitness, and experiences in the SPA that are increasingly focused on spirituality.
4. Medical prescription for being in Nature

Fifty percent of the world’s population lives in cities, so it is not surprising that contact with nature has waned. In the future, it will not be an exception for doctors to prescribe for some patients to seek this very lost contact. Walking in a park for 20 minutes a day could already be a good dose of preventive “medicine.” Forest Bathing, diving in the forest along with breathing exercises, is confirmed as one of the most restorative practices and will continue to grow as a trend, along with an increased emphasis on green spaces and outdoor activities at hotels. Spending time in nature activates brain connections that would lead to better and efficient mental performance as a result of an introspective state: the latest studies suggest is important for psychosocial health. This state is precarious when using phones and PCs, which bring attention to the outside world.
5. Healing scents

The sense of smell is perhaps the most underestimated sense even though the latest research suggests that 75 percent of emotions are linked to it, memories linked to a smell are said to be very long-lasting. In the future, aromatherapy is expected to be increasingly used and the market for essential oils is expected to reach $13 trillion by 2024. The trend will also have applications in the medical field, and new low-calorie foods that are appealing because of their fragrance will be studied. Functional scents will be experimented with to help, for example, concentration.
6. China and wellness

The numbers point to China’s growing and surging interest in the world of wellness: the opportunities of China’s middle class are increasing by the day, and so is the spending devoted to wellness. The government’s “Health China 2030” initiative to improve air pollution, decrease obesity and disease incidence has correspondingly increased interest in the wellness world as well. The trend indicates that among the 145 million tourists who visited China in 2017, 70 percent were interested in spa-related activities, and the number could grow to 400 million in 2030. There is a very interesting response: Alila, Aman Banyan Tree and Six Senses have already opened their businesses here.
7. Personalized nutrition

Confusion has long reigned over what to eat, and what diet to follow, high-fat/low-fat, vegan, protein, the day after starting one, new research states quite the opposite. The idea is that there is absolutely no one diet that is better than another, but that in the future the focus will be more on personalized nutrition. Genetic profiling will provide the specifics of which is best, as opposed to the “one size fits all” concept.
When people eat in harmony with their bodies, weight loss follows naturally, the report says. New medical tests and new technologies will be available, the refrigerator itself will have a sensor in the future to signal which foods to buy to continue the personalized diet. Before long, people will be able to arrive at the ristrante, leave a saliva or blood sample (painless), and the dish best suited to their personal needs will be prepared. In some health clubs, the Mandarin Oriental Hong Kong and Careys Manor in the UK promote testing where they combine with analysis and fitness data, such as DNAFIT.
8. Rethinking death
To give new meaning to passing away and to begin to see death as a natural process that we should not be afraid to talk about, to make it a topic to be explored and not avoided. In the world of wellness talk about anti-aging and methods to prolong life, death is medicalized and solitary. The movement for a reconsideration of death proposes rethinking it in spiritual terms, talking about it in meetings, organizing less formal funerals and also studying philosophies other than our own. It is about looking at a new space in a different way.