The Global Spa Summit Announces 2011 Venue and Theme - Names Three Co-Chairs to Shape Agenda

The Global Spa Summit (GSS), the leading annual event for spa and wellness industry executives, today announced the venue, preliminary schedule and theme for its fifth annual conference taking place in Bali, Indonesia from May 15-18, 2011. The organization also named a panel of co-chairs to shape the 2011 agenda, as the Summit travels to the Asia-Pacific region for the first time, the fastest-growing spa market in the world.
 
Venues: The main venue for the 2011 Summit will be the Laguna Resort & Spa, Nusa Dua, Bali, an award-winning member of Starwood Hotels' Luxury Collection, set on Bali's most beautiful beach. The Laguna Resort will host the conference's welcome cocktail/dinner reception and the last day (May 18) of conference sessions. Two days of sessions (May 16-17) will take place at the nearby Bali International Convention Center, a world-class conference center that hosts high-profile international summits including The Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN).
Preliminary Itinerary:
May 13-14: Optional pre-Summit experiences in Ubud and Nusa Dua, Bali
May 15: Pre-Summit cocktail reception at the St. Regis Bali, with tour of their Remède Spa
May 16-18: Official Summit sessions
May 19: Optional post-Summit experiences
 
2011 Summit Theme:
The theme of next year's Summit is 'Engage the Change: The Money. The Customer. The Future.' 'The 2011 Summit will be distinctly future-focused; with so many social, economic and technological transformations unfolding worldwide, the spa and wellness industries' past will simply not predict where we are headed - or the profound new opportunities before us,' noted Anne McCall, GSS Board Member. 'Under the banner of 'engaging change,' delegates will explore new, emerging markets; new business models and investment opportunities; new consumer demographics; new tourism and health concepts; and powerful new ways of engaging with customers. Additionally, delegates will have more opportunity than ever before to engage and dialogue with both presenters and each other.'
 
As the only event where global spa and wellness leaders come together in a think tank-like environment, delegates will experience three days of keynote addresses, interactive panels, research presentations, breakout workshops, as well as hosted dining and networking events.
 
Co-Chairs Tapped to Shape Agenda:

From its inception the Global Spa Summit has been modeled on the not-for-profit World Economic Forum, where leaders gather to solve problems and identify shared opportunities. Like the WEF, whose annual agenda is shaped by a panel of expert co-chairs, the GSS has just announced its three co-chairs for 2011, each of whom have served as Summit board members since its inception in 2007.

Ann McCall Wilson, Vice President, Spas, Fairmont Raffles Hotels International, Inc., Canada: Wilson, with 20 years of experience in the hotel and marketing arena, is the driving force behind the Willow Stream spa brand for Fairmont Hotels & Resorts.

 

Jeff Matthews, President & COO, Mandara Spas, Indonesia: A resident of (and expert on) Bali, Matthews has 20+ years hospitality industry experience with international chains like Four Seasons and Hilton Hotels throughout Australia, Canada, the Middle East, and Indonesia. He currently serves as president of one of the world's largest resort spa management companies, with 75+ spas worldwide.
 
Susie Ellis, President, SpaFinder Inc., US: Ellis leads the world's largest spa media and marketing company, and brings 30 years of industry experience. A respected analyst of the worldwide spa, wellness and beauty industries, she's recognized as a driving force behind the transformation of the spa industry from a narrower market sector to the mega-industry it has become today.
 
Click here for summit registration (must be approved to attend)
 
 For further information about registration/sponsorship opportunities, contact: [email protected] or visit: www.globalspasummit.org

 

About Global Spa Summit: The Global Spa Summit is an annual event that attracts top-level executives and leaders from around the world with an interest in the spa and wellness industries. Delegates from diverse sectors including hospitality, tourism, finance, medicine, real estate, manufacturing, technology, consulting, product and other related industries attend this intimate, high-level gathering focused on advancing the spa and wellness sectors. The Summit has been responsible for some of the most important recent spa industry research, including the landmark Global Spa Economy Report and Spas and the Global Wellness Market: Synergies and Opportunities (both conducted by SRI International). The Summit was honored as the 'Spa Event of the Year' for both 2009 and 2010 by AsiaSpa magazine's awards program. The 2010 conference in Istanbul Turkey attracted a record number of delegates (40 different countries, from all continents).