Spa expert Susie Ellis has encouraged countries around the world to categorise their tourism activities accurately, so that global wellness tourism research and analysis can be carried out more efficiently and accurately, as she prepares the latest Global Spa and Wellness Economy report for the 2014 Summit.

Speaking exclusively to Spa Opportunties, Ellis – president of Spafinder Wellness and chair and CEO of the Global Spa & Wellness Summit (GSWS) – explained that although she is part of an entity that provides global spa market research for the industry, individual nations should do more to find out how many spas they each have and acknowledge their revenue.

“By categorising wellness for themselves, it will help national tourism industries to make better decisions,” Ellis said.

The upcoming report by SRI-International – partners with GSWS – identifies hot springs wellness as a particular sub-segment of the wellness industry set for a giant boom.

“Governments have not always thought about the hot springs aspect of wellness tourism, but it’s a wellness pursuit – visiting a hot spring provides relaxation and prevents stress,” Ellis added.

“The data will really galvanise the hot springs industry as it’s a market that has never been aggregated before like this. So many countries offer this type of wellness but under different names, such as thermal, mineral and thalassic therapies. By uniting under one umbrella, however, there will be more recognition of the types of natural water therapies available – introducing a more competitive business edge to the global market,” Ellis continued.

Data from the Global Spa and Wellness Economy report will be delivered at the GSWS 2014 Summit in Marrakech, Morocco, this September.