Australia's Wellness Tourism Market Is Heading for a Threefold Jump by 2034

A 2025 market report reckons Australia's wellness tourism trade will grow from around 20 billion US dollars to nearly 70 billion within a decade, and none of that growth is being driven by cut-price deals. This includes practices like yours, if yours happens to be a retreat or a centre with rooms to fill.

Whole-practice growth for wellness practices. Rooted in Wiltshire, UK, working worldwide.

Retreats and centres take note: the growth here is happening at the premium end, which means chasing volume with discounts is arguably chasing the wrong customer.

Original ResearchA market analysis firm forecasts Australia's wellness travel sector will more than triple in value by 2034
Sourcehttps://www.imarcgroup.com/australia-wellness-tourism-market
OverviewThe report tracks the size and projected growth of Australia's wellness tourism market, published by IMARC Group, a commercial market research firm.
Year2025
PublisherIndustry body, IMARC Group
Relevance to WellbeingDirectional international market-size evidence, useful context for centres and retreats, though not UK-specific and not focused on services marketing.
Our VerdictToo early to tell Worth knowing about, but treat it as background noise for strategy rather than a number to quote to clients.
Our Summary
  • Confirms that wellness travel is growing faster than tourism generally, which is a nice thing to have in your back pocket.
  • The scale of projected growth suggests genuine demand, not a fad that will quietly disappear.
  • It is a market-size projection, not a study of what customers actually want or will pay for.
  • Australia is not the UK, and travel patterns there tell you little about someone booking a weekend down the road.
Our Geo ViewApplies specifically to the Australian market; figures should not be assumed to reflect UK or European wellness travel demand.
Abstract of wellbeing niches and revenue flow
Recognise how this might impact your practice

Why this might matter to you

  • Coaching: this matters because it hints that people are willing to travel and spend for personal transformation, which is essentially what a coaching retreat is selling.
  • Therapy: this matters because it shows wellness has become something people plan trips around, not just something they squeeze in after work.
  • Training: this matters because destination-based fitness and training experiences are riding the same wave, even if this report doesn't mention you by name.
  • Alternative Healing: this matters because "preventive health and mental wellbeing" is more or less your entire pitch, and someone has put a dollar figure on how much people will pay for it.
  • Clinical: this matters because it's a reminder that wellness spending is growing even where it overlaps with clinical territory, which is worth knowing before you dismiss it as fluff.
  • Retreat/Centre: this matters because you are, quite literally, the product this report is describing.

Where this came from

A market research firm has published projections suggesting Australia's wellness tourism industry will grow substantially over the next decade.

IMARC Group, 2025. This is a commercially produced market report, not an academic or government study.

Methodology not disclosed in detail; sample size not disclosed; publisher type is a commercial market research firm.

How we scored this

A relevance score out of 100, built from three things: how well it fits the six practice types, how recent it is, and how solid the methodology behind it is.

58%
Practice fit, 50How new, 100How solid, 25

Marked down on how solid the method is, since the underlying modelling isn't shown, and marked as broader-sector rather than practice-specific, though it scores well on recency.

Faces of satisfied clients
It's worth considering changes to your marketing practices

What this means for your marketing

  • Put "growing demand for meaningful wellness experiences" language on your retreat or centre landing page, not a discount banner.
  • Say something about positioning, not price, before a prospective client asks why you cost more than the place down the road.
  • Brief your team that "premium and purposeful" is where the growth is, so nobody talks the business into a price war.
  • Use this as a talking point in investor or partner conversations, not as a client-facing statistic, since it's Australian and not exactly bedtime reading for someone booking a weekend away.

Who this is most useful for

Practice typeRelevanceRecommended action
CoachingLowNote as background context only
TherapyLowNote as background context only
TrainingMediumConsider for destination-based offerings
Alternative HealingMediumUse as evidence of growing category demand
ClinicalLowNote as background context only
Retreat/CentreHighUse for positioning and pricing conversations

Best before

Best before: revisit when IMARC Group updates the forecast, or sooner if you're using it to justify a pricing decision and want firmer ground to stand on.

What next?

If you've ever wondered whether raising your prices would scare people off, this is the bit of research that quietly suggests otherwise.

Talk to us about Whole-practice Marketing

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