The Global Spa and Wellness Summit (GSWS) kicked off in Marrakech, Morocco, today (10 September), with more than 400 delegates gathering from 45 countries to share knowledge and best practice.

The GSWS is an invitation-only event which draws senior decision-makers from across the world of spa.

Delegates were welcomed by Moroccan tourism minister Dr Lahcen Haddad, who said the Moroccan government is aiming to double the number of tourism arrivals – with wellness tourism being a significant part of this. The government is also putting incentives in place to encourage inbound investment.

The event is the first GSWS to be held in Africa, and the future of spa, wellness and wellness tourism on the continent was a strong theme of the first day. Speakers included Magatte Wade from Tiossan, who spoke passionately about the need to change people's perceptions of Africa.

Wade said many people have bad associations when it comes to Africa and her intention is to work to change that and help Africans rediscover their confidence.

Wade said in order for Africa to thrive, the focus must be on employment: "The spa market is very labour-intensive and a good way to create employment in Africa." She said Africa has great traditions to be proud of: "Don't make me turn my back on traditional African massage and accept a Swedish massage - in Africa."

Delegates heard the latest GSWS-commissioned Global Wellness Tourism Economy Data research from SRI International's Katherine Johnston in a morning session. They then took part in a series of lunch table debates and forum discussions on industry-related topics, including wellness tourism, hot springs, corporate wellness, spa education, hotel wellness, plus destination spa and wellness retreats.

Belgin Aksoy from Richmond International, put forward her proposal for a Global Wellness Day and urged the industry to get behind it and make it happen. "So many things have a day," she said. "There's a Global Climate Change Day, a World Hunger Day, even a Global Cupcake Day, we need to get together as an industry to create the Global Wellness Day." She proposed it should be the second Saturday of June. For details, go to www.globalwellnessday.org

The GSWS continues until Friday. Find out more at the GSWS website.