The Global Wellness Summit has announced the theme of its 2018 conference: “Shaping the Business of Wellness.” The 12th annual gathering of wellness industry leaders, which will be held from 6-8 October 2018 at Technogym Village in Cesena, Italy, will focus on the current business landscape and future trends for the ten segments that make up the global wellness economy.

During the Summit, dozens of keynotes, panels and roundtables will look at the businesses of beauty, healthy eating, wellness tourism, fitness/mind-body, preventive/personalised medicine, complementary/alternative medicine, wellness lifestyle real estate, the spa industry, the thermal/mineral springs market and workplace wellness.

The Global Wellness Institute’s update of the Global Wellness Economy Monitor will also be released to delegates, providing new benchmarking data and trends for these ten markets.

“The Summit’s 2018 theme will keep us laser-focused on the emerging business opportunities across all wellness markets–both for traditional industry segments, but also on the ways that wellness is transforming massive industries like retail, fashion, design and architecture,” said Nancy Davis, executive director and chief creative officer at the GWS. “Delegates will not only be immersed in three days of high-level thinking about the business of wellness, they will actively shape its future, as the Summit is known for its many platforms and events that encourage the cross-pollination of ideas, collaboration and networking that lead to new business relationships among the 600+ industry leaders expected.”

The full 2018 Global Wellness Economy Monitor report will be released and analysed at the Summit, offering an updated picture of the size, scope, trends and five-year growth projections for segments within the global wellness economy, along with in-depth regional-level analysis and top country markets for six global regions.

“The ‘Global Wellness Economy Monitor’ has been a powerful force in growing the wellness industry, because without respected data and trends insight, investment simply can’t take place,” said Susie Ellis, GWS chair and CEO. “There is powerful demand for new numbers and analysis of this fast-growing, always changing industry–and delegates will have first access.”

The 2018 Summit takes place in the “Wellness Valley” created by Technogym’s CEO Nerio Alessandri, the host of this year’s event. The Wellness Valley has the goal of making the Romagna region the leading place in the world for wellness expertise and quality of life, immersing people in its unique local heritage: its people, history, traditions, art, nature, music, food and wine.

At the Summit venue, Technogym, delegates will experience a 37-acre campus designed from the ground up to inspire the wellness lifestyle – not only in terms of physical fitness, but also with a focus on environmental sustainability, architectural wellness and mental wellbeing through the beauty of art, music and fashion.

Technogym also features an expansive research and education centre, state-of-the-art gym and farm-to-table cafeteria. Summit attendees will experience a slate of wellness activities, as well as a solid dose of “la dolce vita”, including a Wellness Fashion Show at the gala on the last evening of the conference.