SPAS, gyms, healthy food, hospitals, medical tourism and wellness resorts are no longer niche businesses. Together, they form a $47.3-billion wellness economy in the Philippines, equivalent to 10.2 percent of the country’s GDP.
The industry has grown 30 percent since 2019, prompting government and business leaders to push for greater Asean cooperation in health, wellness, tourism and related industries.
The figures were cited during the recent Health and Wellness Conference and Expo (WONFEC) 2026 Asean Wellness Summit in Pasay City, which brought together government officials, business leaders and industry stakeholders from across Southeast Asia.
With the theme ‘One Wellness Journey: Collaboration, Convergence, and Action,’ the summit focused on strengthening cooperation in health and wellness, medical and wellness tourism, technology and other industries that make up the region’s expanding wellness economy.
Department of Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Leo Herrera-Lin said the Philippines is strengthening its position in the global health and wellness sector, particularly as a destination for wellness and medical travel.
‘The Philippines, in particular, is rising as a global powerhouse for health and wellness travel,’ Herrera-Lin said.
He said regional initiatives such as the Asean 2045 Vision, along with the responsible adoption of emerging technologies, could help improve health-care delivery and strengthen health systems across Southeast Asia.
‘We embrace the transformative and ethical use of artificial intelligence in enhancing our health systems, from diagnostics and surgical care to patient monitoring and rehabilitation and therapeutics,’ Herrera-Lin said.
Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) President Perry Ferrer urged Asean’s 11 member states, home to more than 619 million people, to move beyond competition and develop a common regional wellness identity.
Rather than compete for the same patients, tourists and investments, Ferrer said Asean economies should work together to position the region as a unified wellness destination.
He called for deeper regional integration through measures such as mutual recognition of health-care credentials, common health-data standards and the creation of a cross-border wellness corridor.
‘History will not remember this summit for its eloquence, but for its outcomes,’ Ferrer said, underscoring the need to turn discussions into concrete commitments.
He said the boundaries between industries are increasingly disappearing, with health care, hospitality, nutrition, technology and public policy becoming more closely interconnected.
Secretary Rex Gatchalian of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), meanwhile, emphasized the need to ensure that the growth of the wellness economy benefits a broader segment of society.
Citing projections that the global wellness market could reach $9.8 trillion by 2029, Gatchalian said Philippine medical tourism is projected to grow from $1.2 billion in 2024 to $5 billion by 2034.
He cautioned, however, against viewing wellness solely as a commercial opportunity, saying it encompasses a broader ecosystem involving health care, food systems, employment, communities and technology.
‘When we talk about wellness, we often think about the individual. But a person’s wellness is never created by the individual alone,’ Gatchalian said.
He also pointed to global demographic changes, including United Nations projections that one in six people worldwide will be 65 or older by 2050.
The demographic shift, he said, underscores the need to ensure that vulnerable sectors can participate in the expanding wellness and ‘silver economy,’ both as beneficiaries and economic participants.
‘The wellness economy cannot be sustained if its benefits are accessible only to those who can afford them,’ Gatchalian said. ‘People should also have the opportunity to participate as workers, entrepreneurs, and partners in the economy.’