Miami – September 22, 2026 -- The Global Wellness Summit (GWS) will convene its 20th-anniversary conference November 10-13 at Angsana Laguna Phuket in Thailand, spotlighting a shift the organizers say will redefine competitive advantage across the $6.8 trillion global wellness economy.
Author Joe Pine argues memorable experiences no longer retain customers
B. Joseph Pine II, who co-created the influential "experience economy" framework with James H. Gilmore in 1999, will present findings from his new book, The Transformation Economy: Guiding Customers to Achieve Their Aspirations. Pine contends that goods, services and even curated experiences are now commoditized, and that consumers instead seek measurable transformation across four aspirations: health and wellbeing, prosperity, knowledge and wisdom, and purpose.
Wellness firms risk stagnation despite using 'transformation' as marketing language
Pine warns that many wellness businesses have used the term "transformation" for years while still delivering standardized offerings that fail to produce lasting change. He will outline a three-phase framework—diagnosis, encapsulated experiences and follow-through—designed to help operators redesign business models around each customer's specific desired outcome rather than a generic service menu.
GWS chair Susie Ellis frames the shift as a competitive tool for tourism, medical and real estate sectors
In a prerecorded keynote conversation with GWS chair and CEO Susie Ellis, Pine will translate the transformation-economy concept into actionable strategy for wellness tourism, medical and longevity care, beauty, fitness, spa, and wellness real estate operators. Ellis said delegates would leave with a strategy applicable immediately upon returning home, positioning it as a mechanism for competitive differentiation rather than theoretical framing.
Pine says the customer becomes the product under the new model
"When the customer is the product, the business model fundamentally changes," Pine said, adding that wellness organizations must move beyond offering services to designing operations entirely around a customer's aspirational outcome.
Pine has authored five business books, including The Experience Economy, published in 15 languages, and has delivered over 1,000 presentations across more than 35 countries, including at the World Economic Forum. Registration rates for the Phuket summit increase October 1.