Spafinder Wellness 365 will lead a wellness tourism programme in association with the Global Wellness Tourism Congress (GWTC) across three days of the World Travel Market 2014, which will be held at ExCeL London from 3-6 November.

Spafinder will run three one hour-long sessions on 4, 5 and 6 November covering a variety of topics, including how to define wellness, how to make the most of wellness tourism and how the tourism industry can benefit from wellness-related strategies.

Chaired by Dr Franz Linser, founder and CEO of Linser Hospitality, the first session on 4 November will discuss what wellness tourism is and why it is growing twice as fast as tourism in general. Speakers at this session include Stella Photi, managing director of Wellbeing Escapes; John Bevan, managing director of Spafinder Wellness UK; Anne Biging, founder and CEO of Healing Hotels of the World.

Wednesday 5 November’s session on how wellness tourism is being integrated into national agendas will feature speakers such as Conceiceo Estudante, regional secretary for Tourism in the Madeira Islands; Don Camilleri, director of Hospitality and Leisure Concepts; Steve Brown CFA, non-executive director and leisure industry consultant; Anni Hood, founder and CEO of Wellness Business Consultancy.

In the session on Thursday 6 November, Susie Ellis, CEO of the Global Spa & Wellness Summit (GSWS) will chair the discussion on the two distinct tourism sectors – medical tourism and wellness tourism. Highlighting the difference between the sectors, speakers will include Brian Hunter, operations director of Lifehouse; Mia Kyricos, chief brand officer of Spafinder Wellness; Alfredo Bataller Pineda, CEO of SHA Wellness Clinic; Michael Nazzal, chairman of Jordan Federation of Tourism Associates.

The session on 6 November will be followed by the presentation of the first ever Wellness Travel Awards. Nominated by an independent global panel of 26 spa, wellness and travel journalists plus industry experts, the public then voted for the winners. The awards recognise spas, hotels, resorts and retreats worldwide dedicated to offering experiences that leave visitors healthier when they check out than when they checked in.

Spafinder’s Mia Kyricos will present the awards – which come in the form of six crystal awards, 40 country awards and 20 category awards.