The findings of this study were presented at the Global Spa & Wellness Summit which was held in Morocco in September and brought together over 400 executives and other stakeholders in the spa and wellness industry from 45 countries.
"Wellness tourism is positioned at a profitable intersection between two massive and growing industries - wellness and tourism - each one currently estimated at around $3.4 trillion," said Ophelia Yeung of SRI International said at the summit.
North America accounts for $196.5 billion of all wellness tourism expenditures with Europe in second place at $178.1 billion. The US is the number one country and accounts for a third of the total market. The UK is also in the top 10, as is China for the first time.
The Global Spa and Wellness Economic Monitor, prepared by SRI International, shows that spa industry revenues totalled $94 billion, which was a jump compared to previous years.
With its 32,000 spa destinations, Europe tops the ranking in revenues, with nearly $30 billion.
Although there is no exact data for Croatia, the Chamber of Commerce has estimated that some 300 million euros are annually earned from health tourism and that the potential of this economic branch is over one billion euros annually.
The estimates of revenues cover services from spa resorts, special-purpose hospitals and private medical services.
Croatian hotels and spa facilities began providing wellness amenities some 10 years ago.