In recognition of its 10th anniversary, the Global Wellness Summit (GWS) theme for 2016 will be Back to the Future, senior VP and executive director Nancy Davis told Spa Business magazine.

The GWS is also using the milestone as an opportunity to re-imagine its annual student challenge as the Shark Tank of Wellness competition.

Davis said the Back to the Future theme is “about paying homage to the past and using it as a lens to the future."

She said: “We’re going to look back at those 10 years of the organisation and the industry, creating memories of past summits and inviting certain people back to be part of the conference.

“The summit has always been about looking ahead, so whenever we look back, we’re also going to look forward and ask what the next 10 years will look like.”

To mark the anniversary, Davis said the GWS will create a time capsule. Delegates will take part in a ‘thinking outside the box’ exercise and on the last day their industry thoughts and predictions will be sealed in a capsule to be opened in 10 years’ time.

The goal of the new Shark Tank of Wellness is to attract more students – not just those in the spa industry – and to embrace all facets of wellness. Students from all over the world studying disciplines as varied as architecture and technology will be invited to submit wellness innovations.

Three finalists will be invited to the summit to present their proposals to sponsors in a Shark Tank of Wellness competition. Based on the US TV series Shark Tank – known as Dragon’s Den internationally – students will pitch their ideas for a top prize of US$10,000 (€9,071, £7,022). They’ll be under the close scrutiny of sponsors who will play the role of the ‘sharks’ on the stage.

Confirmed sponsors so far include Four Seasons, ResortSuite and Klafs. The summit has worked closely with spa educator and Cornell professor Mary Tabacchi to set the criteria for the competition and ensure educational integrity.

Davis said: “We really wanted to create an interactive event that delegates will want to come to and be a part of.”

She added: “Last year’s summit in Mexico City was very urban and focused on art, culture and wellness. This year, it will be a more intimate experience looking at wellness in its most natural form: clean air, water, walking [between summit venues], kind people and family businesses.

“It’s a good metaphor for our Back to the Future theme – what Kitzbühel has here in terms of wellness is what people the world over are craving to create, so it’s a good model.”

Read the next issue of Spa Business (out in May) for more summit news from the co-chairs Franz Linser and Susan Harmsworth. Linser is an Austrian-based wellness consultant with more than 20 years experience; and Harmsworth is the founder of product and consultancy firm ESPA International, which has more than 350 spas in its portfolio.