The Global Wellness Summit (GWS) has announced that the central theme of its 19th edition, which will be held from 18 to 21 November 2025 in the Mandarin Oriental Downtown Dubaiwill be "Longevity through the lens of wellbeing". (Longevity Through a Wellness Lens).
This prestigious event will bring together leading wellness companies, physicians, scientists, academics, investors and international business leaders in Dubai to explore the future of longevity, one of the most disruptive trends in the health and wellness industry.
Longevity, the new axis of global wellbeing
The focus on longevity responds to the world's growing interest in extending longevity by healthy life -not just years lived, but those in good physical, cognitive and emotional health. This paradigm shift is driving a wave of innovation in multiple areas of the wellness market: from technology and biotechnology to personalised nutrition, mental health and regenerative therapies.
According to Nancy DavisGWS, executive director and creative director of GWS, "The speed at which longevity is revolutionising the wellness, health, technology and biotechnology industries is astounding. It is a true tipping point for our industry and for the world".. Davis also stressed the importance of opening the debate between different approaches, always from a rigorous and evidence-based perspective.
Co-chairing of international experts
To lead the different areas of the programme, the summit will be led by four co-chairs of recognised prestige in the fields of medicine, hotel investment, tourism and digital entrepreneurship:
- Anna Bjurstam (Sweden): strategic consultant for Six Senses and founder of Raison d'Etreone of the most influential voices in European wellness, investor and entrepreneur with a focus on holistic wellness.
- Dr. Mike Roizen (USA): pioneer in integrative medicine, was the first Chief Wellness Officer at the Cleveland Clinic. Founder of the concept RealAgehas dedicated his career to researching how to extend healthy life years through sustainable habits and evidence-based prevention.
- Ömer Isvan (Turkey): President of Servotel Corporation, a leading global hotel investment development and consulting firm. He has worked with investors at all stages of resort and integrated destination development.
- Jeremy Jauncey (USA): Entrepreneur and CEO of Beautiful Destinationsa strategic travel content company that connects tourism, sustainability and wellness with millions of global followers.
New research and collaboration sessions
In addition to addressing the future of the 11 main wellness sectors - such as wellness tourism, physical activity, mental health, beauty and spas - GWS 2025 will put special emphasis on the wellness market. wellness real estatecurrently the fastest growing in the sector.
The Global Wellness Institute (GWI) will present new research and international success stories in this segment, which is estimated to reach a value of 1.1 trillion dollars (about 900 billion euros) by 2029.
Another highlight of the event will be the collaborative closed-door sessionsThe project will enable executives from different sectors - even direct competitors - to work together to answer a key question:
"What can we achieve together that we cannot achieve separately?"
These dynamics seek to foster real synergies that accelerate the transformation of well-being on a global scale.
Dubai: emerging welfare capital
For the first time in its history, the Global Wellness Summit will be held in the Middle East, recognising the growing importance of this region in the wellness economy.
The region of Middle East and North Africa (MENA) has been the second fastest growing globally between 2019 and 2023, with an annual growth rate of 6,7 %only behind North America. Its wellness economy already exceeds 165 billion dollars (more than 141 billion euros).
The wellness tourism in the Middle East has been by far the fastest-growing globally, with an increase of 11,6 % per annumThe number of people living in the region is twice as high as in any other region, exceeding 19 billion.
As part of this regional drive, United Arab Emirates is consolidating its position as a leader, with a welfare market valued at 34 billion dollars (about 29 billion euros). On a national level, the UAE is the second fastest growing country in the world for wellness tourism (16,5 % per annum), behind only China (18 %).
A new chapter in the intersection of longevity, technology and wellness
GWS 2025 in Dubai is shaping up to be a key event to rethink how wellbeing, science and technological innovation can reshape the way we age. With a plural and multidisciplinary approach, this edition promises to usher in a new era, where living longer and better is not a privilege, but a global possibility.
