For decades, healthcare has largely been built around a simple premise: treat people when they become sick. But as populations age, chronic diseases rise and healthcare costs climb, the definition of health is beginning to change. The question is no longer simply how long people live, but how long they can remain healthy. That shift is helping propel the global wellness economy and is creating new opportunities for Thailand, where an ageing population, strong tourism infrastructure and growing demand for preventive healthcare are converging.

Speaking on the evolution of scientific wellness at the Destination Deluxe 2026 summit, Dr Tanupol Virunhagarun, CEO of Group 8 (BDMS Wellness Clinic, BDMS Wellness Resort and BDMS Silver), Bangkok Dusit Medical Services, said wellness should be understood through three fundamental dimensions: physical, mental and spiritual health. “Anything that makes these three better, you can call yourself in the wellness industry,” he said, pointing to the breadth of the sector, which now extends beyond hospitals and spas into food, homes, real estate, tourism and everyday lifestyles.

Closing the healthspan gap

One of the biggest forces behind the wellness movement is demographic change. Thailand is entering an increasingly aged society, with people aged over 60 accounting for around 20% of the population, according to figures cited by Dr Tanupol. He warned that the country faces a choice between creating a healthy ageing society and an unhealthy one. The distinction is important because living longer does not necessarily mean living healthier.

Dr Tanupol highlighted the growing gap between lifespan — the number of years a person lives — and healthspan, the years lived in good health. Globally, lifespan is around 71 years compared with a healthspan of 61 years. In Thailand, the corresponding figures are about 75 and 65 years. That gap is expected to widen further.

“We live longer, but we live unhealthy more and more,” he said. For the wellness industry, that represents a fundamental change in the healthcare proposition: from extending life to extending the number of years people can live well.

Dr Tanupol argued that healthspan, rather than lifespan alone, should increasingly become the measure that matters. “It just depends on your healthspan, not your lifespan anymore,” he said.

From reactive medicine to prevention

Dr Tanupol, who spoke from the perspective of BDMS, said the healthcare system continues to see patients returning with conditions linked to the same lifestyles that contributed to their illness in the first place. He described the industry’s transition as a move from “reactive healthcare” towards preventive healthcare.

The COVID-19 pandemic further sharpened public awareness of underlying health vulnerabilities. Dr Tanupol pointed to obesity, hypertension, diabetes and cardiovascular conditions as factors associated with increased mortality risks during the pandemic, with obesity highlighted as particularly significant.

The experience reinforced a lesson that wellness advocates had already been promoting: waiting until a person becomes sick can be considerably more costly than investing in health before disease develops.

Wellness becomes an economic force

The economic case for prevention is becoming increasingly significant as healthcare costs rise. Dr Tanupol argued that when one person in a family becomes seriously ill, the impact extends beyond the individual. Physical illness can affect the mental and spiritual wellbeing of the wider family, making health a social and economic issue as much as a medical one.

At the same time, the global wellness economy is expanding rapidly.

Figures cited from the Global Wellness Institute put the value of the global wellness economy at US$6.8 trillion in 2020, with the market projected to approach US$10 trillion by 2029. The sector is expected to grow at an annual rate of around 7.6%.

Wellness tourism and wellness real estate are among the sectors attracting particular attention, with growth rates in double digits.

For Thailand, this represents an opportunity to build on an already substantial wellness economy.

Thailand’s wellness opportunity

Thailand’s wellness economy was valued at around US$42 billion a year, placing the country 24th globally and ninth in Asia-Pacific. Between 2022 and 2023, Thailand’s wellness business grew by 28%, a rate Dr Tanupol described as the highest in the world for that period. Within the country’s wellness economy, wellness tourism grew by 36.4%, while wellness real estate expanded by 22.9%.

The figures illustrate how wellness is becoming increasingly intertwined with Thailand’s established strengths in tourism and hospitality.

Selling a healthier life

A new National Wellness Economy Board of Thailand has been launched as part of the country’s broader effort to develop its wellness economy, according to Dr Tanupol. The ambition is for Thailand to become one of the world’s top five wellness destinations, with the concept of Thailand as the “land of life”.

The proposition is broader than selling a holiday. “Live longer, healthier” is the underlying message, with the aim of encouraging visitors to travel to Thailand while also investing in their health and wellbeing.

That positioning could potentially connect several parts of Thailand’s economy — from healthcare and hospitality to tourism, aviation, food and property — into a more integrated wellness ecosystem.

It also reflects the changing expectations of wellness consumers, who are increasingly looking for experiences that deliver measurable or lasting benefits rather than temporary relaxation.

When your home becomes part of the health equation

Perhaps one of the clearest examples of this shift is the emergence of wellness real estate.

Traditionally, luxury property has been associated with location, design, amenities and exclusivity. The wellness real estate model adds another question: can the building itself contribute to healthier living?

Dr Tanupol highlighted the rapid growth of wellness-focused property and the increasing importance of certifications such as Fitwel, WELL and LEED.

These standards consider elements ranging from outdoor space and indoor environments to water, air quality, lighting, movement, sound, materials and sustainability.

The result is a broader definition of luxury.

A premium home is no longer necessarily about having the most impressive finishes or the largest collection of amenities. Instead, wellness increasingly becomes part of the value proposition — from air and light to movement and the quality of the surrounding environment.

Dr Tanupol suggested that consumers will increasingly want homes that actively support their wellbeing.

The next phase of wellness

The rise of scientific wellness points to a broader transformation in how health is understood.

Wellness is no longer confined to gyms, spas or retreats. It is increasingly connected to how people eat, where they live, how they travel, how they manage stress and how early they intervene when health risks emerge.

For Thailand, the opportunity is particularly significant. An ageing population creates an urgent domestic need for healthy ageing, while the country’s established tourism and hospitality infrastructure gives it a platform from which to develop an international wellness proposition.

The challenge will be turning that potential into an ecosystem in which healthcare, hospitality, tourism, property and lifestyle services work together rather than operating in isolation.

Ultimately, the industry’s evolution is being driven by a deceptively simple question: if people are living longer, how can more of those years be healthy ones?

For Dr Tanupol, the answer lies in narrowing the distance between lifespan and healthspan — shifting the focus from treating illness to preventing it, and from simply adding years to life to adding healthier years to those years.

That may be the real promise of scientific wellness: not merely to help people live longer, but to rethink what living longer should look like.

The Destination Deluxe Wellness Summit 2026 concluded on the evening of 23 September at Four Seasons Hotel Bangkok at Chao Phraya River, following two days of influential conversations, transformative wellness experiences and a glamorous celebration of the people, places and brands shaping the future of global wellbeing. The event welcomed around 200 attendees reinforcing its position as an influential international meeting place for the wellness and luxury hospitality industries.