Hot Springs Took In $77.9 Billion Last Year, and GWI Expects $124.5 Billion by 2030
Research, standards and the sauna industry
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The Global Wellness Economy Monitor 2026 puts the whole wellness economy at $7.5 trillion. Thermal and mineral springs grew 10.4 percent in 2025 and are forecast to grow faster than every sector but two.
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Places built around hot water took in $77.9 billion in 2025, up 10.4 percent in a year, and the Global Wellness Institute expects that figure to reach $124.5 billion by 2030. The forecast comes from the Global Wellness Economy Monitor 2026, which GWI released on November 11.
That puts thermal and mineral springs on a 9.8 percent annual growth path through 2030, the third-fastest of GWI’s 11 wellness sectors and the fastest of the three that depend on travel. GWI’s release gives the reason in one line: “the social bathing mania shows no signs of relenting and hundreds of new destinations are in the pipeline.”
Bathing in the 2026 Monitor
- Wellness economy, 2025 $7.5 trillion, up 8.9 percent from 2024
- Thermal and mineral springs, 2025 $77.9 billion, up 10.4 percent
- Springs forecast $124.5 billion in 2030, growing 9.8 percent a year
- Spas, 2025 $184.0 billion, up 12.8 percent, across 221,094 spas
- Spas forecast $270.1 billion in 2030, growing 8.0 percent a year
- Whole economy forecast $10.9 trillion in 2030, growing 7.7 percent a year
A slow recovery, then a fast year
Springs fell further than most sectors in the pandemic. GWI’s sector table shows revenue falling from $64.6 billion in 2019 to $37.8 billion in 2020. It climbed back to $63.5 billion in 2023 and passed its 2019 level only in 2024, at $70.5 billion. Across 2019 to 2025 that works out to 3.2 percent a year, well behind the 6.9 percent for the wellness economy as a whole.
The last two years changed the picture. GWI says spas, wellness tourism and thermal and mineral springs were three of the five fastest-growing wellness markets from 2024 to 2025, and that every region set new records for wellness tourism revenue and trips in 2025.
Only wellness real estate, at 15.3 percent a year, and mental wellness, at 12.6 percent, are forecast to grow faster than springs. SaunaNews covered the real estate forecast in May, so we won’t repeat it here. For the full picture, read GWI’s wellness real estate forecast.
Where a sauna fits in GWI’s numbers
Sauna is not one of GWI’s 11 sectors, and the springs figure is narrower than “social bathing” suggests. GWI counts businesses built around water with special properties, meaning thermal water, mineral water and seawater. It leaves out places that charge no fee or have no built facilities, and it excludes establishments that use heated water that is not naturally thermal or mineral, according to GWI’s definition of the sector.
Inside a qualifying property, GWI counts all of the revenue, including bathing, spa treatments, food, drink and lodging. So a hot springs resort that adds a sauna village shows up in the springs number, the way WorldSprings did when it added themed saunas at its Colorado property. Read more about Iron Mountain Hot Springs and its Sauna Summit.
A city sauna club that heats tap water does not meet that definition. Spas are a separate sector, which GWI defines as establishments offering therapeutic and professional services such as massages, facials and water-based treatments. For operators who want numbers from sites like their own, the closest benchmark is still the operator survey run through GWI’s Hydrothermal and Consulting Initiatives. Read our report on bathhouse revenue and cash flow benchmarks.
The longevity line
The Monitor also places infrared light therapy and cryotherapy inside traditional and complementary medicine, a sector GWI expects to grow 9.1 percent a year. The release ties that category’s growth to longevity and biohacking approaches, alongside Ayurveda, traditional Chinese medicine and herbal medicine.
The 160-page report is a free download from GWI after a short sign-up form. Find it on the Global Wellness Economy Monitor 2026 page.
