Thailand launches Wellness Hub drive for global top five
Thailand is reframing wellness travel as a long-term health investment, bringing public and private partners together to expand preventative, personalised wellbeing experiences.
- Thailand has launched the "Wellness Hub Thailand" initiative, a major collaboration between its public and private sectors, to become a top-five global wellness destination.
- The strategy focuses on meeting the growing global demand for health-focused travel by integrating Thailand's strengths in nature, cuisine, traditional medicine, and modern medical technology.
- The initiative aims to create a "Wellness Ecosystem" that elevates traditional practices with science, such as enhancing Thai massage with medical technology and creating personalized menus based on genetic data.
- This push builds on strong recent performance, with data showing Thailand's wellness economy had the world's fastest growth rate in 2022-2023.
If people used to talk about tourism in the past, it may have meant a short break and a change of scenery from everyday life, a brief moment of happiness that recharged the body before returning to normal routines.
Today, however, tourism is shifting from “temporary rest” to “a long-term investment in health”.
Thailand is recognised worldwide as a destination with wide-ranging potential, whether in its beautiful and diverse natural landscapes, its distinctive world-class cuisine, or its deep well of health wisdom, shaped by a culture of humility and genuine hospitality.
Recently, the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), BDMS Wellness Clinic, and partner organisations held a press conference for Wellness Hub Thailand, The Land of Life: “The Journey Within”, joining forces across the public and private sectors to strengthen Thailand’s wellness economy at the regional level.
Chuwit Sirivajjakul, Deputy Governor for Policy and Planning at TAT, said TAT views Wellness Hub Thailand, The Land of Life: “The Journey Within” as a new phenomenon in Thai tourism that answers today’s global needs.
Modern travellers are seeking journeys that are meaningful for both physical and mental wellbeing, and this concept reflects Thailand’s strengths across the board, from travel and relaxation to health care.
Promoting preventative health knowledge
In addition, building a Wellness Ecosystem will help raise value per visitor (spend per head), generating income and spreading benefits across multiple sectors along the industry value chain.
This approach is believed to be another important step in driving Thailand towards becoming a sustainable global health destination.
A new phenomenon in Thai tourism: Wellness Hub Thailand, The Land of Life: The Journey Within, an approach that enhances quality of life through a Wellness Ecosystem
Dr Tanupol Virunhagarun, Chief Executive Officer of BDMS Wellness Clinic and BDMS Wellness Resort, Bangkok Dusit Medical Services Public Company Limited, said that while the world is developing rapidly, people are facing greater health challenges than ever, ageing societies, non-communicable diseases (NCDs), stress from urban lifestyles, sleep problems, burnout, and physical–mental imbalance.
These issues are not unique to Thailand; they reflect the reality of people worldwide today.
BDMS Wellness Clinic believes that a sustainable solution is not treatment at the end stage, but enabling people to access knowledge on preventative health care, so everyone can look after themselves correctly and appropriately before illness develops.
“This concept is the origin of wellness tourism, which has now grown into a global megatrend, reflecting a shift from travelling to rest, towards travelling to truly improve quality of life. For Thailand…”
Thailand’s wellness economy grows 28.4%
Latest data from the Global Wellness Institute (GWI) indicate that Thailand’s wellness economy grew by 28.4%, ranking first in the world over 2022–2023.
The strongest-performing segment was wellness tourism.
Over 2023–2024, Thailand’s wellness tourism sector expanded sharply, with 36.4% growth, ranking third in the world, behind the United Arab Emirates (37.7%) and India (57.5%, the highest).
“These figures not only reflect global traveller demand, but they also point to a major new economic opportunity for Thailand, bringing significant spending into the country’s economic system,” Dr Tanupol added.
Key factors behind Thailand’s top-ranked growth in “wellness tourism” come from integrating national strengths, not only famous destinations and natural beauty, but also Thai food rooted in nutritional wisdom, long-standing knowledge of Thai herbs, gracious service, internationally recognised Thai traditional medicine, and medical technology that meets international standards.
Integrating the Wellness Team Thailand network
All these elements are not isolated strengths; they combine into a holistic health-care experience at the heart of “The Journey Within”, a health journey that does not focus only on an external destination, but on returning to understand one’s own body and mind, while re-energising the spirit.
This is a significant step showing Thailand is not only a tourism destination, but is moving towards the role of “The Land of Life” built on a strong Wellness Ecosystem.
“The Journey Within” is an integrated collaboration between public- and private-sector networks, Wellness Team Thailand, with each partner’s role clearly set out under the Travel–Stay–Scientific Wellness model to build a connected, end-to-end Wellness Ecosystem.
It meets the needs of modern consumers who prioritise health, sustainability, and quality beauty, and aligns with the Healthy Ageing concept, reflecting that modern wellness is not only internal health, but also confidence that can be built from within and seen outwardly.
It focuses on research-based health care, blending relaxation sciences with advanced technology in line with international wellness standards, and enabling effective, personalised health planning.
“This success has been driven by each sector’s strong capabilities over time, and if we create systematic synergy now, the economic value will multiply again. By bringing together the strengths of TAT, hotels, airlines, and hospitals in a structured way, the success equation will no longer be 1+1=2, but a powerful force that propels us to leap forward as a true global leader.”
Raising the value of Thai wellness into the top five
Dr Tanupol said increasing the value of Thai wellness into the global top five can be achieved by elevating wisdom with science, including:
- Thai herbs (Thai Herbs): upgraded from kitchen plants to innovation, supported by research down to the level of extracts (active ingredients).
- Thai massage (Thai Massage): repositioned as semi-medical therapeutic massage (medical massage), enhanced with technology, such as combining ultrasound or shockwave with massage to treat office syndrome symptoms.
- Wellness hotels (Wellness Hotel): designed as a “Sanctuary of Sleep”, based on deep sleep science, with control of light, temperature, and noise to ensure the highest-quality rest.
- Food as medicine (Culinary Wellness): collaboration between chefs and doctors (Chef & Doctor) to create personalised menus (genomics diet) based on genetic test results.
“National-level collaboration to create a seamless ecosystem, Thailand can no longer operate in silos. To weather crises and convert them into economic value, we must rely on the Wellness Hub Thailand project, the largest integrated collaboration between the public sector, academic institutions, and the private sector, to build a seamless journey for tourists.”
