Thanks to increasing interest in holistic wellness, Vietnam reports that its wellness tourism sector is working to be at par with and to even surpass its regional peers.

According to market research firm Imarc, the Vietnamese wellness sector was valued at $26.4 billion in the past year.

This was a massive improvement from the $17.4 billion last seen in 2019. 

Imarc researchers added that the country’s wellness tourism sector could grow by up to 9.3 percent this year, across categories like wellness real estate, nutrition, personal care, and beauty.

According to the Global Wellness Institute, this compares favourably with its forecast of 7.3 percent annual growth for the global wellness tourism industry this year.

To date, the industry’s total market value is pegged at around US$6.3 trillion. 

That said, Vietnam’s wellness tourism sector is actively competing against its peers in Indonesia and Thailand.

The pandemic as a surprising driver of industrial growth

Surprisingly, many businesses within Vietnam’s wellness tourism scene credit COVID-19 for pushing them to get into holistic wellbeing.

Globally, the pandemic raised awareness about physical and mental health, pushing many individuals to make changes to their lifestyles.

In Vietnam, public interest in wellness saw a significant increase following the pandemic, though health remains in the mid-range of priorities for most consumers.

Still, a survey conducted in November 2024 by domestic statistics firm IFM Research shows that at least 80 percent of Vietnamese have gotten into exercise, radically changed their diets, or now take supplements for their health.

This wholesale interest in better health has spilled over into the fields of tourism and hospitality, with tour operators offering wellness retreats, as well as a marked increase in clientele at hotel-run and independent spas or fitness centres.

A boom time for spas

According to the Global Wellness Institute, Vietnam’s spa revenues hit $1.4 billion in 2023.

This put the country in the top 20 markets globally and up from $850 million in 2019. 

The average annual growth rate between 2019 to 2023 was 13.3 percent, almost at par with that of Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. 

Along with China and Japan, Vietnam has also been ranked among the top three Asian nations expected to get the most in terms of investments for their respective wellness tourism sites, particularly thermal or mineral spring resorts for this year.