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GLOBAL SPA SUMMIT
3rd Annual Meeting


May 17-19, 2009   
Interlaken, Switzerland


By-Invitation-Only
For Top Executives and Key Decision-Makers

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SAVE THE DATE! The Global Spa Summit is heading to Turkey…

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The 2010 Global Spa Summit will take place May 16 – 19, 2010 in Istanbul, Turkey. Spanning two continents and rich in history, Istanbul has been designated as the European Capital of Culture for 2010 by the European Union, an accolade designed to showcase cultural life and development. Over the next few weeks, the Global Spa Summit will continue to announce details regarding venue and theme. Registration will open November 1, 2009.


The 2007 Global Spa Economy Report in Wide Release

Commissioned by the Global Spa Summit, this 64-page Global Spa Economy Report is the product of an extensive study conducted by the independent research company, SRI International (formerly the Stanford Research Institute). The Global Spa Economy Report, now in wide release, estimated the global spa economy at $255 billion, including $60 billion in core spa industries and $195 billion in spa-enabled industries and examines the economic pulse of the spa industry via a spa industry cluster.

Click here to download the report.


SUMMIT 2009 “THE POWER OF COLLABORATION”

Sunday evening’s welcome dinner brought together spa and wellness industry executives from over 32 countries.

The Global Spa Summit flag joined those of Victoria-Jungfrau Grand Hotel’s, signaling the commencement of Summit Sessions. Sunday evening’s welcome dinner brought together spa and wellness industry executives from over 32 countries. Former President of Switzerland and United Nation’s Special Advisor, Dr. Adolf Ogi, inspired the delegation on Sunday evening through his personal reflections on “the Power of Collaboration.” eto Wittwer, President and CEO of Kempinski Hotels, shared his thoughts on “Individualistic Luxury” as Monday’s keynote speaker. Delegates joined together in lunch table discussions on various timely topics, including yield management. The winning team of the student strategy challenge, from IMHI/Essec University, was congratulated by Former President of Switzerland and United Nation’s Special Advisor, Dr. Adolf Ogi, during Sunday’s welcome dinner.
Dr. Zeki Karagulle, President of the International Society of Medical Hydrology and Climatology (Turkey), provides insight into Medical Hydrology, Balneotherapy, and Thalassotherapy during Monday afternoon’s general session. Global Spa Summit Board Members gather together for the champagne toast on Tuesday afternoon. CEO of Switzerland Tourism, Juerg Schmid, shares the inner creativity of the nation’s tourism model in Tuesday’s afternoon session. Tuesday’s breakout session on Profit Numbers engages the delegation. Members of the student strategy challenge judging panel, Hirokazu Iida, Samir Patel, and Susan Harmsworth, ask tough question to the student teams. The pre-Summit collaborative session on Spa Design sets the stage for the discussion on one of the hotter topics at this year’s Summit, Hydro and Thermal Spa Experiences.
Stanimir Stankov provides an update on the state of the spa industry in Bulgaria during Monday morning’s Global briefing session, in which over 25 delegates shared briefings from their respective countries. The majestic Jungfrau mountain set a remarkable stage for the Summit’s theme, “Power of Collaboration.”

Click the thumbnail images to view highlights of the Global Spa Summit 2009.

The third-annual Global Spa Summit, held in Interlaken, Switzerland at the Victoria-Jungfrau Grand Hotel & Spa has just ended. Attended by delegates from a record 32 nations, the 2009 Summit featured keynote presentations by Dr. Adolf Ogi, the former president of Switzerland and United Nation’s Special Advisor, and Reto Wittwer, the president and CEO of Kempinksi Hotels, along with roundtable discussions on topics ranging from profit margins, to the value of hydro and thermal spa experiences, to spa design of the future. Top-level spa, wellness, and medical professionals (from Ghana to the Philippines) join together annually at the Summit in an invitation-only, “think tank” environment to share best practices and collaborate on strategies to ensure the industry’s ongoing health and growth.

Read more about the highlights of this year’s Global Spa Summit in the recent press release.

SUMMIT 2008 "ADVANCING THE GLOBAL SPA ECONOMY"

The 2008 Global Spa Summit built on the work which began at the 2007 inaugural gathering, where top concerns included an industry-wide skilled labor shortage, the lack of agreed-upon benchmarking, and the need for environmental leadership. These issues surfaced once again, however delegates indicated that the skilled labor shortage problem has escalated and the subject of low margins has supplanted benchmarking concerns which seem to have shown improvement. Keynote addresses by hotel visionary Ian Schrager and Dr. Richard Carmona, 17th Surgeon General of the United States, provided the delegates with powerful calls to action, encouraging the industry to invest further in the areas of design and preventative medicine.

A pinnacle of the 2008 Summit included the presentation of the first ever Global Spa Economy report, conducted by SRI International. This 64-page report, which looked at the year 2007, estimated $60.3 billion in core spa industry revenues, such as spa facilities, capital investments, education, consulting, media, associations, and events, and $194 billion in spa-related hospitality, tourism, and real estate. When broader spa-related industries such as beauty, nutrition, and fitness were factored into the equation, 2007’s global health and wellness market exceeded $1 trillion. The report also found that 1.2 million workers were employed in more than 71,600 spas worldwide in 2007. During the same period, capital investment in spas approached $13 billion, with continued expansion on the horizon. This one-year snapshot makes the spa sector one of the first industries to organize at a global level and analyze its own worldwide impact.

Click here to learn more about the Summit 2008.

Dr. Richard Carmona, 17th Surgeon General of the United States and Vice Chairman of Canyon Ranch, answers a delegate's question following his keynote address 'Prevention and Global Health – the Vital Role of Spas'

Dr. Richard Carmona, 17th Surgeon General of the United States and Vice Chairman of Canyon Ranch, answers a delegate's question following his keynote address 'Prevention and Global Health – the Vital Role of Spas'. Delegates join together on Tuesday afternoon for a boardroom roundtable discussion on branding Dr. Fatma Abdulla, Managing Partner of Global Spa Consulting in Dubai, speaks to the audience about the status of the spa industry in the Middle East. Sunday Evening’s Get Acquainted Dinner. The Investment Panel (from left to right):  Manav Thadnani, Managing Director, HVS Hospitality Services; R. Byron Carlock, Jr., President and CEO, CNL Lifestyle Properties; Neil Jacobs, President, Starwood Capital Hotel Group; Richard Dusseau, Partner and Chief Executive Officer, Spatality. Hotel Visionary Ian Schrager delivers his keynote speech, “Trends and Opportunities in the Hospitality Industry” on Monday afternoon.
(from left to right) Cindy Palusami, Technogym; Frederic Fekkai, President, Frederick Fekkai; Lisa Hedley, Corporate Spa Director, American Property Management. Members of the Latin American Panel get together during Sunday evening’s welcome cocktail reception (from left to right): Ana Carvajal, Alfredo A. Carvajal, VP of Business Development, Universal Companies; Diane Mestre, Spa Consultant (Mexico); Isabel Santandreu, Corporate Spa Director, Excellence Luxury Resorts. John Vanderslice, CEO of Miraval Resorts, leads the boardroom discussion on Spa Lifestyle Real Estate on Monday afternoon. Opening remarks on Sunday evening by MC’s Pete Ellis, Chairman & CEO, and Susie Ellis, President, Spa Finder, Inc. The Deal Makers Breakout Session (from left to right):  John Buckingham, Founder and President, Solana Med Spas;  Tom Gottleib, Managing Partner, Geolo Capital;  Mike Canizales, CEO, Spa Chakra; Susan Harmsworth, Founder, ESPA International;  Philippe Hennessy, President and CEO, Pevonia Botanica. Sonu Shivdasani, CEO of Six Senses Resorts and Neil Jacobs, President of Starwood Capital Hotel Group during an afternoon networking break.
Jan Freitag, Senior Vice President of Smith Travel Research, presents new data during the Benchmarking debate on Tuesday morning. (from left to right) Don Genders, Managing Director, Design for Leisure;  Pete Rietveld, Managing Director, Barr+Wray FZ; Bob Henry, Principal, R.D. Henry  Architects; Roberto Arjona, General Manager, Rancho la Puerta. The Empire Room during Monday morning’s general session. The 2008 Global Spa Summit Student Delegates from Ecole hôtelière de Lausanne, Cornell University and University of California Irvine Extension.

Click the thumbnail images to view highlights of the Global Spa Summit 2008.

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SUMMIT 2007 "JOINING TOGETHER. SHAPING THE FUTURE"

Click here for access to the entire 2007 Global Spa Summit site

The inaugural meeting of the Global Spa Summit was an historic gathering which brought together top level thought leaders, industry executives and influential decision makers from the international spa and wellness industry. The many communications received upon the conclusion of the 2007 Summit (see photos and quotes below), indicated that there was great energy, enthusiasm and support for its future.

Steve Case, Founder, AOL, and Chairman, Revolution LLC. delivers his keynote speech "Building a Revolution"

Steve Case, Founder, AOL, and Chairman, Revolution LLC. delivers his keynote speech "Building a Revolution"

Steve Case, Founder, AOL, and Chairman, Revolution LLC. delivers his keynote speech "Building a Revolution" Opening remarks by Pete Ellis, Chairman & CEO, and Susie Ellis, President, Spa Finder, Inc. Visionary Panel with Stephen Purdew, Leandro Gualtieri, Pete Ellis, Marc Cohen, and R. Byron Carlock Jr. Philip Wolf, CEO, PhoCusWright, Inc. presents on the power of the internet Susan Harmsworth, Founder & CEO, ESPA International speaks of the integrity of "Spa" Kevin Kelly, President, Canyon Ranch, delivers his keynote speech "The Legacy of Health"
Peter Yesawich, Chairman & CEO, YPB&R presents on the spa preferences of affluent travelers Jan D. Freitag, Vice President, Smith Travel Research discusses benchmarking The Event Team: Alycia Grenesko, Sonia Camara, Juan Pinera, Dulcy Gregory, MaryBeth Perreault, Nikita Sarkar, Se Bum Oh, Mariana Pires, Fransisco Cunha and Heidi Tyler Cocktail Reception at the award-winning Cornelia Day Resort in the heart of Manhattan Global Labor Shortage Panel with Professor Mary Tabacchi, Christoph Schmidinger, Ken Greger, Elaine Fenard, Emanuel Berger Jeff Matthews, Tom Posey, Ahmos Netanel and Leonard Fluxman enjoy drinks at the Cornelia Reception

Click the thumbnail images to view highlights of the Global Spa Summit 2007.
To view more photos click here.

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Quotes

Congratulations on hosting the Global Spa Summit it seemed from all accounts to have been a huge success and I am sure you have had lots of positive feedback from all the delegates. I must say whomever I spoke was impressed with the quality of delegates.

Leonard Fluxman, President & CEO, Steiner Leisure Limited

A quick note to thank you...I had a number of people approach me with business ideas, and I was able to meet with a couple of others with whom I had not yet contacted.

Ed McCall, Partner, Brentwood Associates

I am knocked flat by your extraordinary achievement. The Global Spa Summit is world class and totally surpasses any spa related event that I have ever attended.

Clodagh, Founder, Clodagh Design

The Global Spa Summit...was nothing short of a phenomenon. I also want you to know I fell in love with your tag line, "Joining together. Shaping The Future." It was perfect.

Deborah Szekely, Founder, Rancho La Puerta and the Golden Door

I just wanted to thank you for hosting such a wonderful summit!...the buzz was very positive...bringing all these different people together for such a major event. I was happy to share some of my perspectives with your distinguished audience.

P.S. to Pete - Thanks for your very kind introduction! And what was the name of that pool man who has the hot tips????? :)

Steve Case, Founder, Revolution, LLC.

Please accept my congratulations on an excellent first Global Spa Summit. It was incredible to find so many of the top people of the industry under one roof and sharing their vision and challenges so freely. I thought the sessions were excellent and I learned something from each one I attended...The summit created much food for thought and that is a very important step in bringing the industry together at this level.

Joy Menzies. Managing Director, Chiva-Som

I would like to take this opportunity of congratulating Peter, yourself and all those members involved in making the Summit in New York such a resounding success. This was a unique opportunity for a meeting of "minds", willing to share valid information to enhance the SPA therapy business.

Helene Weber Bramwell, President, CIDESCO INTERNATIONAL

I have seen the agenda and it looks great. Congratulations on such a high quality group and a sell out for a "maiden voyage".

John Vanderslice, CEO, Miraval

Thank you so much for a great event. To have all of those top spa individuals from around the globe was one hell of a feat, one that I hope is repeated regularly!

Brian Hunter, Spa Developments

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