The Global Spa & Wellness Summit (GSWS) 2013, the seventh edition of the highly prestigious annual Global Spa & Wellness Summit, will be held in the New Delhi National Capital Region, India from October 5-7, 2013. The GSWS has confirmed that the Summit will take place at The Oberoi, Gurgaon, which is located in the heart of the prime shopping and business district of Gurgaon.
“We are happy that an Indian city has been selected as the location for the 2013 Global Spa & Wellness Summit and look forward to sharing India’s rich and diverse wellness offerings with delegates and media persons from all corners of the world,” said K. Chiranjeevi, Minister of State for Tourism. “The GSWS is a major force behind innovative and healthy growth in the spa/wellness industry, and we think that India, with its ancient history of wellness, is the perfect location for global leaders to gather.”
The Global Spa & Wellness Summit (GSWS) is an annual event that attracts executives and leaders from around the world with an interest in the spa and wellness industries. The annual Summit is recognized as the pre-eminent gathering dedicated to bringing together industry leaders in a collaborative setting and has been responsible for some of the most important spa industry research in the past few years.
The theme of this year’s Summit is “A Defining Moment” One of the topics that will be addressed at this year’s Summit is the growing importance of wellness and wellness tourism worldwide. According to Susie Ellis, chairman and CEO of the GSWS, “The government of India has taken a leadership role by identifying wellness and wellness tourism as important contributors to a nation’s economy. As the birthplace of yoga, mediation, and Ayurveda, India is an ideal location to explore the historic roots of spa and wellness, as well as examine new global markets and revenue opportunities.”
The inaugural Global Wellness Tourism Congress, a congress dedicated to wellness tourism, will be held in conjunction with the Summit taking place on Saturday, October 5, 2013 (the first day of the GSWS). The Congress will bring together ministers of tourism and other wellness tourism thought-leaders to shape the best strategies to promote and grow this fast-emerging travel category. The Congress’ full-day agenda will include the presentation of case studies illustrating unique, successful national wellness tourism campaigns – along with critical findings from a new SRI International1 research report, the first to analyze the scope of, and predicted future growth for, the global wellness tourism sector.
The First Global Destination Spa Forum for “destination spas,” defined as fully-immersive, all-inclusive spa and wellness retreats, will also take place on Saturday, October 5, 2013 (the first day of the GSWS). This Global Destination Spa Forum will represent the very first time that leaders from the 1,500-plus destination spas worldwide are invited to gather to collectively strategize on how to best solve their biggest challenges and capitalize on their biggest future opportunities. “In many ways, destination spas are the heartbeat of the industry,” said Susie Ellis, chairman and CEO of the Global Spa and Wellness Summit. “Creating health transformations is their very DNA.”
Co-chairs of the 2013 Summit are Emanuel Berger, founder, Berger Hospitality Management GmbH, Switzerland; Susie Ellis, president, SpaFinder® Wellness, U.S.; and Andrew Gibson, group director of spas, Mandarin Hotel Group, Hong Kong.
