China’s long, extremely restrictive lockdown was just lifted, and the return of mainland China’s outbound travel market is arguably *the* hottest topic in tourism. Finn Partners, with research consultancy Consumer Search Group, just released a study on more affluent Chinese consumers’ travel plans. First, they plan more overseas travel than their pre-pandemic pace: roughly half of them plan at least five trips this year. After…
Unriddling Happiness: Why “Gloomy” Finns Beat High-Spending Americans By Thierry Malleret, economist In the new World Happiness Report, the Scandinavian/Nordic countries—as always—dominate the top-ten list of happiest nations, with Finland taking the #1 spot again. But there are numerous countries (wealthy and highly developed) that simply don’t rank as high as one would expect. The US ranks 15th, the UK 19th, France is 21st, Italy…
GWI to Release First Wellness Policy Toolkit on Physical Activity April 14 The GWI’s new Wellness Policy Series was born out of a profound reality: the private wellness market and consumer action alone cannot bring wellness to all and address our global skyrocketing health crises. Public policy is essential to fill the gaps. The series includes seven forthcoming wellness policy toolkits (from healthy eating to wellness in…
The “Premiumization” of the Wellness Market: A Worrisome Trend By Thierry Malleret, economist Rich economies are now gentrifying as businesses narrow their focus on the wealthiest consumers: doubling down on premium, exclusive goods and experiences for high-end customers with stripped-down offerings for the rest. The wellness economy is at the forefront of this new gentrification. Whether it’s pricey new fitness clubs, wellness resorts, or well-tech,…
2023 World Happiness Report released: Finland the happiest nation again and global benevolence is rising– CNN, March 20, 2023 There’s cause for optimism in the latest report on world happiness: benevolence is about 25% higher than it was pre-pandemic and global happiness has not taken a hit in the three years of the pandemic. For the sixth year in a row, Finland is the world’s happiest…
Europe Turned an Energy Crisis into a Green Energy Sprint– The New York Times, Feb. 15, 2023 The energy crisis unleashed by Russia’s war did create big problems, but the worst did not materialize. Instead, the EU succeeded not only in averting a major crisis, but also in “turbocharging the green transition,” to an extent that has knocked a full decade off its decarbonization timeline. In…
