Taiwan: A digitally savvy fitness market in East Asia

Tips & Tricks Trends

Taiwan: A digitally savvy fitness market in East Asia

January 14, 2026 ⎯ 10 mins read

Taiwan’s fitness ecosystem blends community-driven gyms, boutique studios, and strong government support for “sports for all” programs, underpinned by high smartphone use and widespread digital payments adoption.

Urban lifestyles and an emphasis on preventive health continue to drive demand across gyms, yoga and Pilates studios, and corporate wellness programs.

Interior of World Gym, Taiwan. | Credit: clubsolutionsmagazine.com

Taiwan at a glance

Market size:

Taiwan’s health and wellness market reached USD 15.22 billion (TWD 471.7 billion) in 2024 and is projected to grow to USD 20.70 billion (TWD 641.3 billion) by 2033 at a CAGR of 3.12% (IMARC Group, 2025; Statista, 2025). Within this sector, the Digital Fitness and Well-Being segment is expected to generate USD 368.66 million (TWD 11.4 billion) in 2025, rising to USD 482.58 million (TWD 14.9 billion) by 2030 (Statista, 2025).

Fitness centres:

As of 2024, World Gym, Taiwan’s largest chain, owns approximately 130 locations, more than double the second-largest operator, Fitness Factory. (investor.worldgymtaiwan.com, 2025).

Industry datasets count roughly 1,500 to 3,266 gyms nationwide, depending on classification methodology (rentechdigital.com, 2025; poidata.io, 2025). In 2026 we expect to see further steady growth across site counts.

Key drivers:

High smartphone and internet penetration with mobile-first finance (datareportal.com, accessed Oct 2025; businesswire.com, 2025).
The Taiwanese government push for mass participation through iSports Taiwan 2.0 and a planned Ministry of Sports (english.moe.gov.tw, 2025; sa.gov.tw, 2025).
Strong digital payments infrastructure and consumer adoption across wallets and cards (fsc.gov.tw, 2025; asianbankingandfinance.net, 2025).

Who’s going to the gym in Taiwan?

Taiwan’s diverse population enjoy numerous forms of exercise, with a strong focus on team sports and tailored workout experiences.

For example, urban millennial Taiwanese and Gen Z Taiwanese are adopting boutique gym formats and tech-enabled memberships - while seniors primarily engage via community programs (academic.oup.com, accessed Oct 2025). Overall sports participation reached 82.6% in 2023, with regular exercisers hitting a record 35.0% (english.moe.gov.tw, accessed Oct 2025).

gym-in-nsysu.edu.tw | Credit: www.nsysu.edu.tw

The current fitness landscape

Major chains:

World Gym Taiwan, Fitness Factory (PWHI), Anytime Fitness are the three leading gym chains in Taiwan (investor.worldgymtaiwan.com, accessed Oct 2025).

Boutique boom: Pilates, yoga and HIIT-led studios show strong consumer demand, mirroring wider APAC boutique growth and the shift toward holistic wellness (athletechnews.com, accessed Oct 2025; corehandf.com, accessed Oct 2025).

Regulatory notes:

Taiwan is increasing regulation around prepaid contracts and fraud prevention, especially after recent studio closures and consumer complaints (Taiwan News, accessed November 2025). Authorities now require escrow models for any good or service not delivered immediately, such as subscriptions and memberships, to protect consumers. Businesses that process payments directly must obtain a MODA license. Ezypay holds this license, so fitness operators and software partners using Ezypay can collect payments without needing to manage licensing themselves.

Multifactor authentication, including phone number validation, is becoming standard to reduce fraud. These changes reflect broader APAC trends in consumer protection and add compliance pressure on PSPs and software providers (asianbankingandfinance.com, accessed November 2025).

Immersive yoga | Credit: yogajourney.com.tw

Opportunities and challenges in Taiwan

Below is an overview of the key opportunities and challenges shaping the market.

Opportunities

1. Boutique fitness expansion:

Demand for guided, community-centric formats across Pilates, yoga and HIIT remains strong. Studios using hybrid online and in-person models see high engagement in Taiwan, with many Taiwanese prioritising flexibility in their workouts.

2. Corporate wellness:

Ongoing growth in employer well-being initiatives and commercial set-ups supports subscription demand (mobilityforesights.com, 2025).

3. Digital payments:

Electronic payment accounts reached about 29.5 million users in August 2024, with 3.916 billion non-cash transactions logged in the first half of 2024 (fsc.gov.tw, 2025; asianbankingandfinance.net, 2025).

LINE Pay is widely used as Taiwan’s number one mobile payment service by external comparisons, alongside JKO Pay and Apple Pay (lycorp.co.jp, 2025; statista.com, 2025).

Challenges

1. Consumer trust:

Abrupt closures and prepaid contract disputes have heightened scrutiny; operators must ensure transparent cancellation and refund policies (mothership.sg, accessed Oct 2025).

2. SME onboarding:

Smaller merchants need support to adopt interoperable QR and tap-to-pay solutions, though infrastructure is improving (cbc.gov.tw, accessed Oct 2025; globalpayments.com, accessed Oct 2025).

3. High competition:

Dense urban markets with strong big-box chains require differentiated offerings and retention strategies.

4. Pre-payment regulatory challenges

Any business offering goods or services that are not delivered immediately, such as memberships or subscriptions, is now required to use an escrow account or a bank guarantee to store and protect consumer funds.

Ezypay is Taiwan-ready!

Taiwan’s payment-friendly ecosystem and boutique growth align with Ezypay’s strengths in simplifying billing and improving cash flow for fitness businesses. With a growing list of partner solutions and integrations, Ezypay has the right solution for every health, wellness and fitness business, including Hapana and Membr.

See the full list here: https://www.ezypay.com/partner-directory

See how Ezypay can power payments for your gym or software product today.

Recurring billing made simple: Automate subscription payments to reduce admin and strengthen cash flow.
Solving local challenges: Support compliant, transparent collections that build trust and reduce risk around prepaid models.
Flexible solutions for growth: From single-site studios to multi-location franchises, Ezypay scales securely, working with leading gym and wellness platforms.
Seamless integrations: Connect to popular fitness software providers and enable local payment methods used daily by members.
Advanced settlement: Ezypay makes it easy to settle funds to multiple accounts so you can easily split payments up between franchise locations, vendors, suppliers and more. · Local language support: our support team speaks the same language as your customers, improving customer service for everyone.

Citations:

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