A Wellness Symposium, which will throw the spotlight on the $8.3 billion industry in the Middle East/North Africa, will be launched at Arabian Travel Market this year.

A partnership between the World Travel Market portfolio of events and the Global Wellness Institute, the symposium has been organised as part of a schedule of events in ATM’s Wellness Lounge.

It will also analyse MENA’s thriving domestic and inbound wellness tourism markets – as well as trends in outbound wellness tourism from the Middle East.

“Wellness travel is not only growing twice as fast as tourism overall, it’s evolving in bold new directions, both globally and across the Middle East.

“Our on-going mission will be to bring together the top experts and latest research and trends in this travel space to ATM and WTM’s tens of thousands of attendees,” said Susie Ellis, chairman of GWI.

The UAE leads the Middle Eastern wellness tourism market.

With an average of 1.7 million wellness trips generating $2.7 billion annually, it accounts for 14 per cent of the MENA spa market, according to research from Colliers Experiential Travel Series.

Having already identified the demand for wellness, ATM launched a dedicated Wellness and Spa Lounge in 2016, connecting Middle East wellness and spa buyers with international suppliers.

ATM will take place at the Dubai World Trade Centre on April 24th-27th.