Can Hvarmony become more than just an event and a new global signature of Hvar?

Hvar has a 158-year tradition of health tourism, an authentic Mediterranean way of life, and at the same time, there is a growing global need for travel that brings slowing down, balance, and a kind of reset.

Can a new motive for reaching the postseason be developed from these foundations, and Hvarmony over time, outgrow the boundaries of an event and become a recognizable concept and brand in its own right?

From October 15th to 18th, Hvar will host the first edition of Hvarmony try to connect the modern global well-being a trend with something the island has had for a long time: climate, nature, food, exercise, spending time outdoors and, perhaps most importantly, a different rhythm of life.

He is among the first confirmed guests Carl Honoré, author of the world bestseller "In Praise of Slowness" and one of the world's leading voices Slow Movement, and Croatian-American author and speaker Kristina Kuzmič is also coming to Hvar.

Honoré is an award-winning author, journalist, and two-time TED speaker who has spent more than two decades speaking about the costs of a culture of constant rush. His books have been published in 36 languages, and his lectures on a slower, more mindful lifestyle have been watched by millions.

But his philosophy is not a call to do everything slowly. Honoré advocates finding the right rhythm: speed when it makes sense and the ability to slow down when quality requires time, presence, and attention.

This is where the global idea gets an interesting local translation. Honoré tells the world to slow down, while Dalmatia has long had a simple word for it - a little bit.

Before wellbeing got its name, Hvar was already living it

The town of Hvar will host the first edition from October 15th to 18th. Hvarmony | Mind - Body - Soul: Mediterranean Art of Wellbeing, a four-day program dedicated to the art of good living.

"Before quality of life or wellbeing got a name, Hvar was already living it," expires Iva Belaj Šantić, director of the Hvar Town Tourist Board.

Hvar is not a backdrop, but an integral part of the product.

This is perhaps the most interesting touristic element of the whole concept. Hvarmony is not only conceived as a conference that, with a change of scenery, could be held in any other destination.

The program combines lectures and discussions with practical experiences and topics slower lifestyle, sleep, movement, breathing, nutrition, mental resilience, healthy aging and longevityIn addition to the conference part, outdoor activities, island food, the sea and time for participants to meet each other are planned.

So, as we can see, the idea is not to spend four days talking about quality of life inside a conference room, but to try and experience some of what is being talked about at the same time, or perhaps more accurately - live.

The Hvar light, sea, landscape, food and rhythm of island life thus become part of the experience itself. This is precisely what the organizers see as the difference between Hvarmony and generic wellbeing events, as Hvar is an integral part of the concept.

The goal is not to create the largest event of its kind in the region, but rather a recognizable annual gathering that is so tied to the place that it cannot simply be moved to another destination.

"Hvarmony does not want to offer another recipe for a perfect life, but to open up space for what really makes life better.", emphasizes Belaj Šantić.

It is exactly that. content connection i destination identity interesting also in the context of the development of tourist products outside the main summer season. The sun and the sea remain part of the experience, but they are not its only content. Value is tried to be built around lifestyle, local gastronomy, nature, health, knowledge and time spent in the destination.

Kristina Kuzmič on a life that doesn't have to be perfect

Along with Honoré, he is among the first confirmed participants Kristina Kuzmic, a Croatian-American author and speaker known for her direct and often humorous approach to everyday life. 

Her talk will be about resilience, expectations, self-care, and the pressure to always be in control. She will talk about life when things don't go according to plan and the idea that a good life doesn't have to mean a perfect life.

The rest of the international and domestic speakers, experts and famous participants, as well as the detailed schedule of events, will be announced before the start of Hvarmony. The current list of all domestic and foreign speakers can be found at https://hvarmony.com/govornici .

From the Hygienic Society of 1868 to modern wellbeing

But Hvar also has a historical background for such an event that goes far beyond the modern wellbeing trend.

More In 1868, the Hygienic Society was founded in Hvar., starting from the then very advanced idea that the island's climate, sun, sea, outdoor activities and lifestyle could positively influence people's health and recovery. Thus, Hvar has one of the longest traditions of organized health tourism in Europe.

More than a century and a half later, Hvarmony brings this historical story to the present day and reopens the same question: how to live a healthier, better quality life and in better balance with yourself and your environment, or a more balanced life.

And that is where perhaps the most important development link lies. The Hygienic Society of 1868, the climate, the sea, spending time outdoors, the Mediterranean diet and the island rhythm of life are not only interesting elements of Hvar's history. They are the foundations and part of the destination's identity, and it is this identity that should be the basis for every new tourism story, including Hvarmony.

Wellbeing is a global tourism trend today, but a destination gains much greater credibility when it doesn't simply try to "introduce" it as a new product, but can connect it to its own history, space and way of life. Hvar has a rare strong starting position here: from organized health tourism in 1868 to the modern concept of wellbeing in 2026.

And we're not talking about a small tourist niche.

According to the latest data Global Wellness Institute (GWI), wellness tourism generated almost $894 billion in spending in 2024. Wellness travel accounted for 8,3 percent of all tourism trips, but as much as 17,6 percent of total tourism spending, which also speaks to the value of a guest who travels for such motives.

It is even more interesting to see in which direction that segment is developing. Among the global wellness tourism trends for the year 2026, GWI stands out wellness that encompasses the entire destination, the need for a kind of "reset" of the body and the increasingly pronounced search for true, deep relaxation.

Which means that wellness is becoming less and less samo to a spa, massage or individual treatment. Travelers are increasingly looking for a holistic destination experience that allows them to escape the fast pace of everyday life, slow down, rest and find balance again. That is why nature, movement, food, local lifestyle, space and rhythm of the destination itself play an increasingly important role in that story.

And this is where Hvarmony becomes much more interesting than just another wellbeing event. An interesting direction for the development of the whole concept, isn't it? The story now takes on a whole new dimension.

From "a little bit" to Hvarmony: Can Hvar create a new reason to come from its lifestyle?

And the name itself is particularly well-hit: Hvarmony.

In it they naturally merge Hvar i Harmony, or rather, exactly what the event wants to communicate: balance, a slower pace and quality of life. But in the long run, Hvarmony doesn't have to remain just the name of a four-day event. With continuity and consistent content development, it could grow into a recognizable term associated with Hvar and its off-season.

As Dalmatian "a little bit" In one word, it conveys the entire philosophy of lifestyle, and through Hvarmony, Hvar could build its own contemporary expression of that same idea. Not as another marketing slogan, but as a concept behind which stand concrete contents, people, gastronomy, nature, wellbeing, movement, health and the island lifestyle.

If such a concept is built long-term, Hvarmony can potentially become more than just an event - a kind of signature of Hvar outside the main summer season.

If such a concept is built in the long term, Hvarmony can potentially become much more than an event or a kind of signature of Hvar outside the main summer season. It can grow into a separate, internationally recognizable term and a kind of lifestyle trend that will be linked to Hvar, but at the same time have value and meaning in its own right.

That is perhaps the greatest potential of the whole story. That Hvarmony will eventually become synonym for a certain philosophy of life - balance, the Mediterranean, a slower rhythm and quality of life, and that through it Hvar is positioned even more strongly on global level.

Not creating a new identity for the island, but giving a contemporary expression to what Hvar has been living for centuries through an idea that can transcend the boundaries of events, tourism and the classic summer vacation (sun and sea) and respond to something much deeper and more meaningful, especially in today's context of life - the human need to sometimes slow down, find balance, make a kind of reset and simply live a better life. 

Today we are talking about four days. But the true value of such a concept will only be revealed if, over time, it starts to emerge from the calendar of the event itself. Hvarmony week, Hvarmony month, special gastronomic programs, outdoor experiences, hotels that adopt the philosophy of the concept, local producers, cultural programs… only then will Hvarmony stop being an event and start becoming a destination ecosystem.

I know, there's still a long way to go.  I'm a bit wide awake dreaming and thinking out loud, we're just talking about the announcement of the first Hvarmony and a lot needs to be put together for an idea like this to really come to life. It needs continuity, content, people, international visibility and, above all, time. Five years, maybe more, for the story to be accepted and start spreading. For four days to one day become seven, maybe later even a month of different content, and Hvarmony gradually ceases to be just the name of one event.

But if something on Hvar has the potential to go that way in time... to become a concept in itself, then Hvarmony as a concept is definitely on that track. Especially because it does not try to invent a new identity for the island, but rather gives a contemporary expression to what Hvar has been experiencing for centuries - something that can transcend the boundaries of events, tourism and classic summer vacations and touch

Has wellbeing become another obligation?

At the same time, Hvarmony wants to open up the more critical side of today's industry wellbeing.

Self-care is increasingly turning into just another to-do list: we need to sleep better, move more, breathe more properly, eat better, meditate, and constantly work on ourselves. The organizers are therefore asking whether even wellbeing has become another area of ​​life that we are constantly trying to optimize.

"Hvarmony doesn't want to be another conference where we learn what we're doing wrong. Instead, Hvar in October calls for something simpler: slowing down enough to distinguish what really benefits us from what is just another trend, recommendation, or task.", concluded Iva Belaj Šantić.

If we want to extend the season, it is not enough to simply extend the calendar and expect guests to come in October for the same reasons they come in July.

Hvarmony is an interesting example of how a new reason to come can be built from the identity of the destination itself - not by trying to copy July and August in October, but by turning the slower rhythm of the island into its advantage and part of the tourist product.

Because in the end we come back to the same question: what is the motive for coming?

Sun and sea are a strong motif of Hvar in July and August, but the off-season has to offer something of its own. And perhaps that's where Hvarmony has its greatest value. It doesn't try to find another reason to make October feel like August, but rather tries to make what Hvar really is then a reason to come.

The first edition of Hvarmony will be held from October 15 to 18, 2026 in the town of Hvar, find part of the program at https://hvarmony.com/ and other details, while the detailed program, locations of individual events, and information about participation will be published later.