Months ahead of its ninth annual conference, the 2015 Global Wellness Summit (GWS) is already expected to draw a record turnout to Mexico City. As a global and regional wellness tourism powerhouse, Mexico attracts roughly 1 in 2 wellness tourism “dollars” spent across the entire Latin America/Caribbean region, according to the Global Wellness Institute. This, combined with the city’s vibrant cultural offerings made the city an obvious choice, and first host city, as opposed to a host country, for the GWS.
The GWS’s overarching goal—shared purpose over individual gain—is modeled largely after the World Economic Forum, with delegates comprised solely of senior executives and decision makers. This year’s theme, “Building a Well World,” reflects the growing inseparability of wellness industries—from hospitality and tourism to architecture, medicine, technology and manufacturing, among others. The GWS has attracted quite the keynote arsenal to drive home this message, including author and wellness guru Deepak Chopra and His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama.
Susie Ellis, chairman and CEO of the Global Wellness Institute, the umbrella organization that runs the GWS, explains: “Progress towards a ‘well world’ requires global collaboration among many different disciplines and industries, and never have so many business sectors been so keenly interested in wellness. Mexico City is a venue that embodies the excitement and opportunity we are seeing throughout the fast-growing wellness economy.”
The economy Ellis speaks of is actually a $3.4 trillion dynasty—over three times larger than the worldwide pharmaceutical industry. Not surprisingly then, wellness tourism sits at the epicenter of the global tourism industry, pulling cultural, sports, sustainable, medical, culinary and even agricultural tourism into a cohesive whole. The GWS will explore this aspect too, with pre- and post-Summit options such as a geothermal mineral water, cultural and artisanal tours.
The Global Wellness Summit will take place November 13-15 at The St. Regis Mexico City.
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