Wellness tourism and the future

The wellness tourism industry is experiencing unprecedented growth and appears to be filling a crucial need for those living in highly stressed states. How well does one understand this sector, its potential, and its problem? Currently it is an undertheorized but increasingly important component of tourism. Scant detail exists other than broad market research, with many important social, cultural, and psychological aspects needing to be explored. This will assist to better understand the relationship between work and leisure, wealth and quality of life, relaxation and health, wellbeing and tourism, within the context of shifting values in the globalized world of the 21st century. This chapter summarizes key research questions, paradigmatic and methodological challenges in need of transdisciplinary inquiry, as well as the challenges and opportunities for the industry.