The inaugural Wellness Tourism Summit has been confirmed for 2020, in response to the rapid growth seen in the wellness sector in Australia.

Research by the Global Wellness Institute (GWI) values the sector at $639 billion a year in global visitor spend and ranks Australia 14th globally in terms of percentage growth in wellness trips over the past two years.

To be held in Noosa on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast, the summit will uncover the latest research, consumer trends and best practice in wellness travel and tourism, with more than 20 wellness travel experts invited to speak on the main stage.

The Wellness Tourism Summit is being convened by GWI chair Katherine Droga, who said there are great benefits to businesses engaging in wellness tourism.

“Wellness travellers often tread lightly, respect the environment, value local community connections, and help mitigate over-tourism issues that many destinations now face,” she said.

“Wellness travellers also assist a destination with seasonality flows, stay longer than regular tourists and often spend more. This means there’s a huge opportunity for operators to tap into the diverse sectors of what wellness travel actually means to the consumer.”

The summit has already secured a stellar line-up of speakers, include Emlyn Brown, Accor’s Paris-based vice president of wellbeing, luxury and premium brands; Joanne Barber, sustainability transformer and wellness thought leader at Singapore-based We Affirm Co.; Sharon Kolka, general manager and wellness director at Gwinganna Lifestyle Retreat; Georgia Rickard, editor-at-large at Virgin Australia; and Janice Williams, publisher of Wellbeing Magazine.

The Wellness Tourism Summit will be held on March 19 and 20, 2020 at the Sofitel Noosa Pacific Resort.