Well-being stations, high-end clinics and spas are part of ambitious national development programs in Saudi Arabia and its neighbors.
According to the medical journal The Lancet, the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council, as well as the rest of the Middle East and North Africa, will direct the world of young people by 2050. The CCG region will not seem to be an obvious candidate to direct a global campaign in well-being tourism. RIGHT?
Be careful again. The GCC well-being tourism market should grow at an annual growth rate (TCAC) of around 17%, reaching 1.4 dollars by 2027, according to projections of the Global Wellness Institute (GWI), a non-profit organization based in Miami. The Middle East, including the GCC, represents only around 2% of the global market booming today, which is expected to exceed 1 dollars Billion this year, but it is the region that knows the fastest growth for the tourist expenses of well-being, the GWI calculates.
CCG governments consider well-being as a good choice because it brings together two areas to which they bet for rapid growth: tourism and biotechnology, pharmaceuticals and medical innovation. On the tourism side, they are already building several large -scale projects, including Alula of Saudi Arabia, its red sea project; DIREYAH, QIDDIYA and Neom. Oman, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates all pursue ambitious initiatives.
Although everything is not linked to well-being, more than 600 hotel projects with more than 140,000 rooms were under development in the Middle East at the beginning of 2024, according to “The Future of Wellness: 2025 Trends”, recently published by the Global Wellness Summit (GWS), a Sister Sister of the GWI.
Ambitious national development programs launched over the past decade, such as the 2030 Vision of Saudi Arabia, the 2031 Water Vision and the National Vision 2030 of Qatar, conduct astonishing figures, according to experts. Designed to reduce dependence on oil and gas and encourage economic diversification, these programs help channel investments in the target sectors.
The priorities vary, but most include tourism, health care, sports and cultural heritage.
“Tourism has become a central pillar in national diversification programs, in particular in countries like Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar,” explains Vivek Madan, partner, strategy and Middle East, which is part of the global PWC strategy consulting company. “These governments are massively investing in the infrastructure and destination brand image to reduce dependence on hydrocarbons and unlock long -term and sustainable economic growth.”
Before its diversification campaign begins, Saudi Arabia already received considerable entries from religious and business travelers.
“You have an ecosystem in place” which includes international operators and a talent pool, explains Osama El Kadiri, responsible for hospitality, tourism and leisure for the MENA region of Knight Frank, a world real estate firm based in London. “It is low -maintenance fruits to attract additional players to the game and open the country to the leisure part. It seemed to be the immediate path to diversification. ”
The GWS report notes: “The well-being market in Saudi Arabia alone is estimated at $ 19.8 billion, well-being tourism increasing at an annual rate of 66%.”
Well-being as an import substitution
The well-being travel market is increasingly divided into two distinct segments, but with a certain cross pollination. “Softcare” tends to be cheaper, simpler and slower, according to GWS. Think of nutrition programs, alternative therapies, meditation, fitness lessons, health assessments and stress management programs. “Hardcare” means high -end and high -tech medications, such as biohacking and longevity clinics. Most CCG countries invest in both.
In addition to attracting foreign visitors, advanced centers are also designed to respond to high-end residents who have already traveled abroad for high quality treatment: the health and well-being industry as an import substitution.
“People of the Middle East like to go to health and well-being clinics to Switzerland and Germany,” observes Corina Goetz, founder and CEO of Star-Cat, a commercial advice based in London specializing in the region. “Of course, it is logical to associate [with foreign investors] So you can keep money in the country. »»
The SoftCare side range range is varied, reflecting its ambitions.
Sha Emirates will open next year as an outpost of the Spanish well-being clinic, notes the GWS report. “Billing like the first” healthy island “in the world”, the complex will include 100 residences and will combine “clinical care with a conscious life”.
The project of the Red Sea of Saudi Arabia has captured the imagination of the inhabitants and foreigners, thanks in part to promotional publications on the social networks of Portuguese footballer Cristiano Ronaldo, carried out during a break in the representation of the local side, Al-Nassr FC. Tourism boosters “have actually created an entire program around him,” said Goetz. “You can experience Ronaldo in the Red Sea, and you can do exactly what he did.”
Development, which, according to Madan, “incorporates well-being in ultra-luxury stations like Desert Rock and Amaala”, covers 28,000 square kilometers, includes more than 90 islands and targets 150 million visitors per year by 2030 for a contribution of $ 5.3 billion to the GDP in Savadi.
With a price exceeding $ 500 million, Therme Dubai promises to become the highest wellness center in the world when it opened in 2028. In the spirit of Ski Dubai, the famous interior slopes of the city of the desert, the center will include the largest interior botanical garden in the world, three 18-meter-meter falls and an water park in addition to a myriad of spa inspired by old worlds. The capacity will be 1.7 million visitors per year.
“It’s like a concept of tropical well-being,” explains El Kadiri. “You will be in this place where they will recreate tropical weather conditions”, granting the associated benefits.
Unlike Dubai ostentatious, Oman develops coastal attractions, mountains and thermal spring, “by taking advantage of its natural assets to attract ecological well-being tourists”, in the words of Alkeeaid Alkeaid, founder of Fitlee for Corporate Wellness, a boxing federation of Riyadh. The Omanis want to focus on “silent luxury” and “authenticity”, notes El Kadiri. The nearby heritage sites must be combined with wellness offers to highlight cultural trips, he adds.
The Zulal Wellness Resort of Qatar by Chiva-Som, a wellness complex operator based in Bangkok, aims to “become the first family well-being offer in the region,” said Madan. The project “signals an evolution towards the scale and the sophistication of well-being infrastructure. It is one of the largest well-being destinations and the first and the only complete immersion station in the Middle East, based on traditional Arab and Islamic medicine (TAIM). ”
Dubai and Abu Dhabi lead the region in Hardcare. Last year, Dubai inaugurated a center of longevity of Clinique La Prairie in partnership with the famous Swiss Longevity clinic. In April, Abu Dhabi launched the Helm Abu Dhabi cluster, a health, endurance, longevity and medicine research center. It is expected to contribute $ 25.6 billion to emirate GDP, create 30,000 new jobs and earn $ 11.5 billion in investment by 2045 by pressing a global health care market which would reach 25.3 billions of dollars by then.
“Although well-being tourism is growing and the initiative of Cluster HELM is distinct efforts, they share additional objectives,” explains Sami Khawaja, partner of the PWC strategy and Middle East. “The HELM cluster has a broader objective which includes advanced biotechnology, pharmaceutical manufacturing, digital health, integration of AI and precision precision and preventive medicine: all supported by advanced infrastructure.”
High-end mega-projects attract most of the attention, but there are early indications that the economy of well-being can spread to citizens of the average CCG.
“These [big tourism] Initiatives not only attract international visitors but also promote local well-being cultures, promoting a more concerned population of health, “said the GWS report.
Residents and resident expatriates pack newly open fitness clubs. About 100 decades ago, Saudi Arabia now has 2,100 and count.