Dubai backs a Dh35B longevity strategy over the next decade
Dubai has approved a Longevity Authority strategy that targets more than Dh35 billion (about $9.5B) in economic contribution over the next decade. For advisors, the commercial signal is that clinic, resort and medical-wellness capacity is likely to follow, along with new inbound programs aimed at longevity travelers.
Nothing in the reporting yet names suppliers, openings or commission structures, so this is a pipeline to watch rather than product to sell today. Advisors with longevity clients should ask their DMC and supplier contacts what Gulf programs are in development, and whether commission or preferred-partner terms will be offered as the strategy turns into projects.
Miraval The Red Sea gives the brand its first international address
Miraval The Red Sea opened in May on Shura Island, Saudi Arabia. It is the brand's first resort outside the US. It has 180 Foster + Partners-designed rooms and a 40,000 sq ft spa with 39 treatment rooms, plus programming built for the region.
The source is a partner piece in Robb Report, so treat the positioning as the operator's own. Commercially, it gives advisors with mindfulness-focused clients a new destination-spa option on the Red Sea, as an alternative to Maldives-style itineraries. Before proposing it, confirm commission terms, access and transfer logistics, and what the minimum stay and programming look like for first-time guests.
Boomers plan to outspend Gen Z four to one, and 35% are traveling off-peak
MMGY's fall survey puts average US leisure spending expectations at $5,655. Boomers expect to spend $8,796 a year, against $2,195 for Gen Z. In the same survey, 35% of travelers plan to go off-peak and 51% have used AI for trip planning.
For wellness sellers, the spending gap supports aiming premium and longevity pitches at older, affluent clients. The off-peak figure points to shoulder-season retreat packages. With half of travelers already using AI to plan, advisors can lead with curation and supplier access that a planning tool does not offer.
Oura delays its IPO as sauna interest climbs
Oura has postponed its US IPO, one of several listing hopefuls to delay as market jitters deepen. It is a sign of investor caution toward wellness-tech valuations, though it has little direct effect on travel sales.
The more useful signal for advisors is the World Sauna Congress in Oslo, where heat exposure is drawing wider attention and interest in sauna is rising globally. That supports thermal, sauna and contrast-therapy programming at spas and retreats. Advisors can use it to frame itineraries around heat and cold, particularly in Nordic destinations, where the practice is established.