What World Wellness Weekend does

World Wellness Weekend is a non-profit initiative founded in 2017 and headquartered in Bruxelles, Belgium, that organizes an annual global wellness event held on the third weekend of September. The initiative operates a community-driven model in which venues worldwide — including spas, yoga studios, fitness centers, and wellness practitioners — register free of charge to host free activities aligned with the organization's Five Pillars framework: Sleep, Nutrition, Movement, Mindfulness, and Purpose. As a non-profit, World Wellness Weekend does not derive revenue from venue registration or participant fees; instead, it is supported by anonymous sponsors and aligns its mission with UN Sustainable Development Goal 3 (Health and well-being for all).

The organization has scaled its geographic footprint to documented participation across 2,012 cities in 187 countries, with an expected ~15,000 venues in the most recent edition versus 11,364 already listed. Its core operational asset is Wellmap.org, a geolocation directory available in 17 languages that allows users to discover wellness activities in their vicinity. The platform incorporates a tiered badge system that gamifies engagement: participants are designated "Champion" after completing three activities and "Hero" after five activities. Go-to-market is community-led, relying on venue operators and local wellness practitioners to self-register and promote events through their own networks.

With 36 employees supporting global operations, World Wellness Weekend functions as a coordinating body rather than a commercial enterprise. The organization has not disclosed any funding rounds, acquisitions, or revenue figures, consistent with its non-profit status. Testimonials from a Paris spa and a Lyon yoga studio confirm venue-level satisfaction, but the underlying economic model rests on sponsor contributions rather than transactional revenue.

Name

World Wellness Weekend

Legal name

World Wellness Weekend

Website

https://wellmap.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Short description

World Wellness Weekend is a Belgium-based non-profit that coordinates a global annual wellness event across ~15,000 venues in 187+ countries, using its Wellmap.org geolocation platform and a Five Pillars framework to connect venues, practitioners, and participants worldwide.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Wellness Events

NAICS

Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers (71394)

SIC

Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900), Services-Miscellaneous Amusement & Recreation (7990)

akta.pro primary industry

Wellness & Mindfulness Classes (Yoga Workshops, Meditation, Breathwork) (THAJAKAK)

akta.pro secondary industries

Outdoor, Adventure & Recreational Wellness Education (Hiking, Breathwork in Nature) (EDAAAHAO), Wellness Retreat Centers (Yoga, Meditation & Mindfulness) (THAGAMAB)

Keywords

• Wellness event platform
• Wellness venue directory
• Community wellness initiative
• Wellness discovery platform
• Wellness venue registration

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Non-profit initiative (sponsor-supported): World Wellness Weekend is a non-profit initiative funded by sponsors. Registration for venues is 100% free. While venues must offer at least one free activity, they can optionally offer paid add-ons or packages to generate revenue from new clients attracted by the free offerings.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

World Wellness Weekend is a non-profit global initiative that organizes an annual wellness weekend on the third weekend of September, during which wellness venues worldwide register free to host free wellness activities. The Wellmap.org platform enables geolocated venue discovery in 17 languages, with 11,364 venues across 2,012 cities and 187 countries, supported by anonymous sponsors and aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goal of health and well-being for all.

Product overview

World Wellness Weekend is a non-profit global initiative that operates primarily through its Wellmap.org platform—a multilingual venue discovery and registration system available in 17 languages. The core offering centers on an annual wellness weekend event (held the third weekend of September) where participating venues organize free collective wellness activities. The platform supports venue registration with tiered recognition programs (Wellness Champion requiring three activities and Wellness Hero requiring five activities including community outreach). Educational content is delivered through the Five Pillars of Wellness framework covering Sleep & Creativity, Nutrition & Immunity, Movement & Vitality, Mindfulness & Serenity, and Purpose & Solidarity. Additional services include newsletter subscription for wellness enthusiasts and social media engagement through Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• World Wellness Weekend Annual Event Annual global wellness event held on the third weekend of September, in which registered wellness venues worldwide host free wellness activities for the public. Designed for wellness venues (spas, hotels, fitness clubs, yoga studios, schools, corporates) and individuals seeking free wellness experiences.
• Wellmap.org World Wellness Map Platform Geolocated global wellness venue discovery platform available via web and mobile apps (iOS/Android), supporting 17 languages. Free for venues to register and for consumers to browse and contact venues. Designed for wellness venues seeking visibility and consumers searching for wellness activities.
• Wellness Venue Badge Recognition Program Tiered recognition program offering Participant, Champion, and Hero badges to registered wellness venues based on participation frequency and engagement. Designed for wellness venues seeking measurable marketing differentiation and international credibility through visible recognition.
• World Wellness Weekly Digital Newsletter Free weekly digital email newsletter delivering updates on the World Wellness Weekend event, participating venues, and wellness content. Designed for wellness venues, consumers, sponsors, and supporters seeking ongoing engagement with the World Wellness Weekend movement.

Named customers2 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles6 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Anonymous SponsorsminorOthersThe initiative is supported by anonymous sponsors whose logos appear on the website (sponsor-logo-1, sponsor-logo-agilysys, sponsor-logo-5, sponsor-logo-6, sponsor-logo-7). These sponsors enable free venue registration.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• ClassPass: ClassPass is a global fitness and wellness class aggregator that connects consumers to studios and gyms. World Wellness Weekend operates a similar venue-discovery-and-booking mechanic, but focused on free, time-bounded activations rather than recurring paid memberships.
• Mindbody: Mindbody powers booking, payments, and discovery for spas, fitness studios, and wellness venues worldwide. World Wellness Weekend serves the same vendor and consumer segments (spas, yoga studios, fitness clubs) but through a community-driven event model rather than SaaS.
• BookRetreats: BookRetreats is a global marketplace for booking yoga, meditation, and wellness retreats. World Wellness Weekend overlaps directly in target venues (yoga studios, retreat centers) and target consumers (wellness travelers), though its model is free community events instead of paid retreats.
• Wanderlust Festival: Wanderlust produces multi-day yoga and wellness festivals and events globally. World Wellness Weekend operates in a similar experiential wellness event category, but distributes events across thousands of independent venues worldwide rather than hosting its own festivals.

Broad incumbents

• WellnessLiving: WellnessLiving is an established SaaS platform for fitness studios, spas, and wellness businesses offering scheduling, marketing, and client management. Comparable vendor base to World Wellness Weekend, but focused on software monetization rather than community activation.
• Global Wellness Institute: Global Wellness Institute is a leading nonprofit research and education organization for the global wellness economy. Like World Wellness Weekend, it advances wellness as a public-good agenda and supports the UN SDG on health, though it focuses on research and policy rather than venue activation.
• Tripadvisor (Wellness Category): Tripadvisor's wellness and spa categories serve travelers discovering wellness venues globally. Comparable consumer use case to Wellmap.org, but Tripadvisor is a broad travel platform rather than a community-driven wellness activation.
• SpaFinder: SpaFinder is an established discovery and booking platform for spa and wellness experiences. It shares the same vendor ecosystem (spas, wellness centers) and consumer discovery mission as World Wellness Weekend, though it is a paid-booking marketplace rather than a free community event.

Others

• Eventbrite: Eventbrite is a general-purpose event ticketing and discovery platform. World Wellness Weekend uses similar event-discovery infrastructure for its venue-hosted activities, but Eventbrite is a broad ticketing tool rather than a wellness-vertical community.

Emerging players

• AllTrails: AllTrails is a global discovery platform for outdoor and wellness-adjacent activities. It overlaps with World Wellness Weekend on consumer-side discovery of nature-based wellness experiences and a multilingual, map-driven UX, though AllTrails is hiking-specific.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/worldwellnessw1
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCAnmy__qkoQg0eiwQvJxphQ
• Facebookfacebook.com/WorldWellnessWeekend
• Instagraminstagram.com/worldwellnessweekend

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about World Wellness Weekend