Wellness Tourism Association relaunched as for‑profit under Robin Ruiz amid questions over governance
According to a Travel and Tour World report published on 13 August 2025, the Wellness Tourism Association has been reimagined under new ownership and leadership, with Robin Ruiz — founder and chief executive of Wellness in Travel & Tourism (WITT) — installed as president and CEO of the organisation. The relaunch transforms the association from the not‑for‑profit established in January 2018 into a for‑profit entity, a shift that its backers say will allow a more commercially focused strategy for an industry experiencing rapid expansion. The change comes after a turbulent few months for the association, which was formally dissolved earlier this year amid financial difficulties before plans for a relaunch were announced.
The reconstituted association sets out a familiar set of strategic priorities — education, research, advocacy and networking — but under a new operating model. The Travel and Tour World coverage describes an expanded membership offer, new learning modules and a continued partnership with The Travel Institute on the Wellness Travel Specialist course. According to the association’s own historic materials, those educational aims mirror WTA’s original mission to set standards, build professional capacity and create a common industry vocabulary, but the new leadership says it will pursue these goals with a renewed commercial focus.
That commercial dimension is personified by Robin Ruiz. Ruiz’s private company, WITT, has already moved into standards‑setting territory: in September 2024 WITT announced a hotel and resort wellness certification that assesses properties across pillars such as healthy eating, holistic healing, nature, movement and local impact. The prior launch of that certification is being presented by supporters as evidence of Ruiz’s experience in building market‑facing products and services; industry observers note it also signals the sort of productised, revenue‑generating activity a for‑profit WTA might pursue.
It is important to acknowledge how this relaunch follows an earlier and public collapse. Reporting in May 2025 stated that the WTA’s board had taken legal steps to dissolve the not‑for‑profit because of financial strain, even as founders and early supporters flagged the organisation’s accomplishments — from the Global Glossary of Wellness Tourism Terms to consumer research — and expressed a desire to preserve and rebuild those assets. The new ownership model, then, can be read as a response to the practical challenge of making the association financially sustainable.
The timing of the relaunch coincides with sizeable market momentum. Research from the Global Wellness Institute forecast that wellness tourism would exceed US$1 trillion in 2024, noting a strong post‑pandemic rebound, large average trip spend and projections of substantial further growth through the rest of the decade. Industry figures emphasise that wellness trips often command above‑average spend and that domestic wellness travel remains a dominant segment, factors that underlie the commercial rationale for renewed investment in industry infrastructure.
Those market dynamics help explain why the new WTA is emphasising certified training and market intelligence. The Wellness Travel Specialist course — developed with The Travel Institute and carried forward under the relaunched association — confers a recognised certification to travel advisors and industry professionals and bundles tangible benefits such as digital badges and discounted membership. Supporters say programmes like this will professionalise the supply chain and help travel sellers convert growing consumer interest into booked experiences; critics warn that certification and training managed by a for‑profit association should be transparent about governance and conflicts of interest.
That tension is central to the questions now facing the sector. The original WTA gained credibility through open standards work and independent consumer research; converting those functions into revenue streams risks blurring advocacy and commercial aims unless structures for accountability are made explicit. The relaunch statement outlines intentions to continue research and standards activity, but it provides fewer details on governance arrangements, membership pricing, or how legacy resources — such as the glossary and prior studies — will be stewarded under the new entity.
For the moment, the relaunch represents both an opportunity and a test. Proponents argue the new WTA is better aligned to scale services, deliver industry certification and mobilise commercial partnerships that reflect the market’s size and trajectory. Skeptics will watch how the organisation balances commercial imperatives with independent advocacy and whether it can translate market momentum into durable standards, credible research and genuine industry collaboration. Ruiz and her backers frame the move as a forward‑looking consolidation of expertise and services; the wider sector will judge success by the association’s transparency, governance and measurable contribution to the professionalisation of wellness travel.