Decent or dirty work? Revealing the complexities of employment in wellness tourism

Wellness tourism represents a growing international trend for health-conscious consumers seeking to improve their physical and mental wellbeing. It is also a multi-billion-dollar industry that supports workers and communities. Despite this, wellness tourism work can be viewed as a more extreme form of tourism work due to its gendered, sexualised and emotionally intensive nature. Of significance to the current study, the lived working experiences of those delivering wellness tourism is an under-researched topic, lacking in theoretically grounded explanations. Following a narrative review of the limited extant literature, informed by the lenses of dirty work and dignity at work, this paper proposes a conceptual model for transitioning wellness tourism work from dirty to decent as a means of realising Sustainable Development Goal 8, Decent Work and Economic Growth. Contested areas, compatibilities, and research opportunities are explored along the way to providing a roadmap for this workforce, illustrating how to assign a sense of dignity using a tri-level agenda across macro, meso and micro levels. We conclude by proposing future research and practical directions that aim to ensure that wellness tourism work offers decent work for all.