Leading executives from the global spa, hospitality, travel, and wellness sectors will come together to chart the future of the booming $40 billion spa industry at the first-ever Global Spa Summit from May 20 – 22 in New York City, event organizers announced today.
The threeday gathering, to be held at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York City, will feature keynote addresses by two of the leading visionaries in the wellness lifestyle industry: Steve Case, the founder of Revolution LLC and AOL, and Kevin Kelly, the president of Canyon Ranch.
The Global Spa Summit will also showcase presentations and panels led by leading industry investors, analysts, researchers, and executives, including Steiner Leisure Limited CEO Leonard Fluxman; Stephen Purdew, owner of Britain’s Champney’s Health Resorts, Italian spa magnate Leandro Gualtieri, YBP&R’s Peter Yesawich, PhoCusWright’s Philip Wolf, and Smith Travel Research’s Jan D. Frietag.
In all, the summit will be attended by more than 150 delegates from around the world, including the Caribbean, Japan, China, Sweden, Austria, Philippines, Australia, Bali, Germany, UK, Dubai, Thailand, the Himalayas, Hong Kong,Canada, Switzerland, and Mexico.
Spa Finder, Inc., the world’s leading spa marketing and media company, collaborated with a team of international advisors to assemble the summit, which is the first-ever of its kind. Spa Finder’s founding in 1986 was described by the New York Times as a milestone in the growth of the worldwide spa industry.
“The spa industry has grown 40 percent over the last three years and it shows no sign of slowing down anytime soon,” said Spa Finder CEO Pete Ellis. “We’ve all seen in other industries, however, that rapid growth can sometimes create fragmentation and impede innovation. Our goal is to both foster a healthy exchange of ideas and information and to lay the foundation for a global network that can lead the industry forward.”
Presentations will include industry forecasts, market research analyses, and in-depth reports on the Asian, European, Middle Eastern, U.S. and Canadian spa markets, as well as special reports on Japan and China. Breakout sessions will allow delegates to debate a wide range of industry challenges and opportunities including ownership and management arrangements for hotel spas, spa design, sustainability, labor shortage challenges, industry investment opportunities, and the creation of universal industry performance benchmarks.
Social and networking events will round out the agenda, beginning with an opening night gala and continuing with “dine-around” meetings at New York’s top restaurants. Guests will also be invited to unwind at the award-winning Cornelia Day Resort and tour other leading New York City spa facilities.
While the first two days of the Global Spa Summit will be open to delegates only, members of the media are invited to attend “Spa 2.0. An Industry Forecast,” a press briefing and panel discussion featuring the conference’s leading participants sharing key findings from the conference, including best practices, industry challenges and opportunities, and industry research and forecasts.
The press briefing will take place at 3:30pm ET, followed by a cocktail reception, on May 22nd at the Waldorf-Astoria.
