Spa and Wellness Industry

After the Wellness Summit held at Hua Hin last August, I checked in at Davies, a boutique hotel in Bangkok for the weekend before I flew back to Manila.  I booked myself a detox package at the posh Dulaya spa within the Davies cottage complex.   There was another spa up the hotel but it seems Dulaya was better.

Yes it was indeed with its spacious rooms, soothing and quiet ambiance, generous amenities and the therapist was good.  My treatment started with a salt scrub, followed by a seaweed wrap after which I plunged to the  jacuzzi tub filled with rose petals and aroma scent to remove all the algae in my body after which I was given a most relaxing massage.

I encountered one problem though.  When I was wrapped with seaweeds, I wanted to know the time so I tried asking the thai therapist.  I had to explain what time meant and even used the word clock to no avail. She couldnt understand what I was asking at all!  I couldnt move my body to try to see the clock for I was tightly wrapped all over. I was so exasperated that she tried calling the receptionist to help her out. Only then did I know what time it was,  after several minutes of irritatingly explaining what I needed.

The thai women are really good in spa treatments but sadly have much catching up to do in order to improve basic english knowledge.

Last Sept 2006 I attended the Turning Point Spa Industry Conference in Cebu City, the first time it was held in the Philippines.  Susie Ellis of Spa Finder presented her forecast for 2007.  She also presented a similar one the following month during the Wellness Summit organized by Messe Frankfurt this time held at Wiesbaden, Germany.

On the macro level,  she mentioned the emergence of the aging baby boomers and the increase in the aging population globally, something predicted by a couple of soothsayers  including Paul Zane Pilzer, author of the Wellness Revolution.  This is by far the biggest market of the growing wellness industry. 

It was interesting to note the emergence of Asian Spa Brands such as : Chiva Som,  Mandarin Oriental, Mandara, Chi by Shangri-la, and Banyan Tree.

Spa brands in Asia seems to be dominating and the US counterparts are now slowly emerging. Europe has very few of this at the moment.

She also stated that Asian SPAs are known for its setting and service, Europe SPAs for its hydrotheraphy and skincare and US for Fitness and Marketing.  On the Medical side, Asia is more holistic, Europe clinical and US offering more botox and physical.

This year there will be more Male spa goers and medical retreats; a focus on  spa lifestyle communities, beauty foods and interestingly enough Sleep health.  More and more spas will be featuring sleep programs using minimal light and sound, aromatheraphy and relaxing spa treatments something which is I guess is an offshoot of this increasingly stressful world.