The Global Wellness Institute (GWI) has released a white paper – Opportunities and Impacts of the Wellness Economy for Regional Development – to guide policymakers, researchers and business people.

Researched and written by GWI senior fellows, Ophelia Yeung and Katherine Johnston, the paper explores the wellness industry’s potential to fuel regional development and economic growth at all levels – locally, nationally and internationally – and the opportunities this would create.

“The wellness economy is a US$4.2 trillion global industry, yet growth has been largely a private sector phenomenon and off the radar of most government leaders, policymakers and economic developers,” explained Yeung.

“It’s time governments around the world started paying attention to this crucial sector,” said Johnston.

“The wellness industry enables economic development, competitiveness and growth,” Johnston said. “It has implications for health, urban planning, environmental and cultural sustainability, workforce equity and diversity, social and cultural affairs, and much more”.

This is the second of GWI’s Understanding Wellness series of white papers which are intended to demonstrate the major force wellness is becoming around the world and exploring likely impacts of growth.