Synergy – The Retreat Show has announced its speaker programme for Croatia 2026, bringing leading voices in wellness travel to Istria from 29 September to 2 October.
As many as 300 people from retreat leadership, wellness practice, travel advising, hospitality businesses and destination organisations are expected to attend. This year’s theme, The Healing Power of Nature, will examine the relationship between natural environments, human wellbeing and retreat design.
The event will be held at the newly opened five-star Pical Resort, Valamar Collection in Poreč. Attendees will stay on-site, with the resort’s beachfront park and surrounding outdoor spaces hosting business appointments, workshops, wellness activities and informal gatherings.
Authors and wellness specialists join the programme
The announced speaker line-up brings together writers, clinicians and hospitality specialists whose sessions approach nature-led wellness from different perspectives.
B. Joseph Pine II, the co-author of The Experience Economy and an adviser to Fortune 500 companies, will lead a session titled Designing for Transformation: How Retreats Can Create Lasting Change. His presentation will consider how retreats and hotels can support guests through meaningful change while also creating memorable stays.
Florence Williams, the journalist and author of The Nature Fix, will examine research into the effects of time outdoors. Her session will cover mental health and cognition, alongside the physiological responses associated with exposure to natural environments. She will also consider how that evidence could inform wellness programmes and biophilic hospitality design.
Adventurer and author Alastair Humphreys will present The Adventure of a Lifetime… or a Lifetime of Adventure? His talk will explore how ideas of adventure are changing as travellers place greater value on wellbeing, sustainability and more thoughtful experiences.
Dr. Erica Oberg, ND, MPH, a naturopathic doctor and clinical researcher specialising in integrative and longevity medicine, will focus on the biology of nature-led healing. Her session will examine nature’s influence on the nervous system and long-term health, as well as its role in the guest experience.
Andrew Gibson will draw on more than 30 years in international wellness hospitality, including senior roles with Six Senses, Mandarin Oriental, Fairmont and Sensei. His presentation will trace the development of wellness travel and consider opportunities for retreat operators, destinations, hotels and specialist advisors.
Damian Chaparro, co-founder of Aro Ha Wellness Retreat in New Zealand, will explore how ancient knowledge can work alongside modern wellness practices. His contribution draws on Aro Ha’s experience of welcoming more than 8,000 guests to programmes centred on resilience, connection and personal change.
Nature will shape the wider event programme
Synergy Croatia 2026 will extend beyond conventional conference sessions. The provisional agenda combines pre-arranged business meetings with talks, practical workshops, wellness classes and outdoor experiences.
Laura Montesanti, founder of Synergy – The Retreat Show, said: “We are seeing wellness travel evolve beyond individual treatments and modalities towards a much deeper understanding of what genuinely supports human wellbeing and transformation.”
Montesanti said the programme would consider nature’s role in how retreats are designed and how guests reconnect, as well as how wellness businesses and destinations develop. The schedule also covers healthy hedonism and mindfulness, together with water’s healing potential and relationships with nature that are regenerative.
The event will also introduce Synergy’s first Global Retreat Report. The research draws on newly gathered feedback from people who take retreats and professionals in wellness travel, examining what guests want from retreats and testing assumptions held within the industry. Organisers plan to use the findings to identify areas where retreat experiences and business models could evolve.
Arrival and registration are scheduled for 29 September, followed by a welcome cocktail party. The main programme runs from 30 September to 2 October, with morning wellness classes, appointments and networking lunches arranged around talks and experiential sessions. Departures are listed for 3 October, although the published schedule remains subject to change.
Pical Resort hosts the event in Poreč
Set beside the Adriatic and close to the historic centre of Poreč, Pical Resort, Valamar Collection provides a coastal base for the event. The property sits alongside the Parenzana trail and has access to a landscaped beachfront park.
The resort is home to ESPA at Pical, described by Synergy and Valamar as the spa brand’s first signature property in Croatia. Its wider facilities include three themed beaches, 11 pools across indoor and outdoor settings, 11 restaurants, nine bars and a beach club. A bike centre, tennis facilities and water sports expand the programme beyond the meeting spaces.
Valamar says the resort was constructed using existing foundations and operates with electricity from renewable sources. The property’s sustainability measures include solar generation, on-site processing of food waste through biocomposting, and greenery across its roofs and façades.
Istria’s wider landscape also reflects the event’s theme. Croatia’s northernmost peninsula combines an Adriatic coastline with forests, vineyards, olive groves and medieval hilltop settlements. Its regional food culture, including Istrian truffles, is another feature of the surrounding environment.
Synergy builds on its Sardinia edition
The Croatia gathering follows Synergy’s 2025 edition at Is Molas Resort in Pula, Sardinia. That event brought together 300 attendees from 53 countries, while its networking programme involved 204 companies spanning hospitality, retreat operations and travel consultancy.
Much of the Sardinia programme took place outdoors, with delegates attending pre-arranged meetings, panel sessions, workshops and wellness classes. For 2026, Synergy will keep this combination of commercial appointments and experiential learning while bringing accommodation and the full programme together at one resort.
Registration information and subsequent programme updates are available through the Synergy – The Retreat Show website.
