Thailand — Asian Spa Capital
Thailand is among the big winners of the fifth AsiaSpa Awards, presented by AsiaSpa magazine — the region's most recognized spa and wellness publication. Hosted at Hong Kong's classy Armani Bar on 12 November 2009, it was a night of glitz and glamour as Asia's spa community came together to celebrate its finest. Thailand won awards in five categories — "Asian Spa Capital of the Year", "Destination Spa of the Year" for Six Senses Destination Spa Phuket, “Medi-Spa of the Year” for S Medical Spa in Bangkok, "Spa Personality of the Year" for Karina Stewart, Co-founder, Brand & Concept Director, Kamalaya Wellness Sanctuary, and “Men's Spa Treatment of the Year” for "Man Space Healing Balance Massage", i.sawan Residential Spa & Club, Grand Hyatt, Erawan Bangkok.
The Thai Spa Industry 2009
Thailand’s spa industry continues to evolve with the changing needs of spa clientele, environmental pressures and economic realities to a focus not far removed from the ancient purpose of traditional Thai massage and herbal healing techniques — that of restoring well-being.
Thailand’s spa industry has certainly matured, according to Andrew Jacka, President of the Thai Spa Association. “There is more mindfulness that while our industry may well be based on luxury pampering, we are in fact part of a bigger health care industry,” he says.
Maintaining well-being through a better balance of the body, mind and spirit, as well as with the environment, has become the key protocol for Thailand’s many award-winning spas and emerging ventures. It is also the major thrust in a government master plan to establish the country as a medical hub — but one that also prominently features traditional and alternative treatments.
Retreats, alternative therapies, personal consultation, life coaching, meditation, yoga, pilates and physiotherapy, along with healthy eating and detoxing, have joined the menus of more standard treatments around the world comprising scrubs, facials, massages and water treatments.
Despite the need to blend with Western practices, the Thai spa industry’s edge is its ancient heritage: the rituals, treatments and massage techniques that have survived down through the ages. It has an authenticity that spas elsewhere in the world look to replicate. In fact, ‘Thainess’ has become a significant selling point.
Thainess refers to both the therapists and the cultural qualities that have made Thailand the spa capital of the Asia-Pacific region – and a must-have component for spas all around the world.
While it can mean different things to different people, when applied to Thai therapists Thainess seems to encompass ancient healing techniques, folk wisdom in its rituals and, perhaps above all, an impossible-to-copy graciousness.
GLOBAL TRENDS AFFECTING THAILAND
Globally, spa tourists give high priority to achieving a pronounced sense of wellness and getting good value for money. Many also want to enjoy an authentic cultural dimension with the rituals, special herbs and oils and natural environments. People generally are placing greater importance on staying healthy and preventing illness. Going to a spa is no longer regarded as an indulgence but a necessity — part of a prevention regimen, and a way to rejuvenate and cope with the world.
Energy medicine is a world trend embracing Thailand. It includes reiki, qi gong, chakra balancing, healing touch, acupuncture and magnetic, light and sound therapies, and focuses on clearing imbalances in the body’s energy field to promote healing.
The growth of Asia’s spa culture has been quite dramatic, and will continue. The Thai massage experience, with its techniques for stretching joints and muscles whilst pressing meridian points, is regarded by some professional Western therapists as the most perfectly choreographed treatment. With origins dating back 2,500 years, Thai massage is a deep, full-body natural and holistic treatment that incorporates hatha yoga, acupressure and reflexology to restore energy flows and sustain good health and well-being. In the true cultural ritual, Thai massage is accompanied with traditional Thai herbal healing techniques.
Environmentally friendly spa facilities are becoming less of a gimmick in Thailand and more of a way of business as more spa tourists concentrate on reducing both their stress and their carbon footprints. Superficial green gestures don’t cut it these days.
Mindful spending is another global trend affecting Thailand’s industry. Spa tourists are looking for value with tangible results in the form of ‘day-cations’ and ‘spa-cations’ to make quality use of holiday time. A growth in the number of spas to be found in three- and four-star hotels is expected.
People who want to age gracefully without recourse to plastic surgery often view spa treatments as soft surgery.
Customers are pairing up; more couples and groups (mothers and daughters, fathers and sons, girlfriends and pregnant women) are looking for package treatments.
Emotional counselling is becoming the norm as spa resorts bring in specialists to help clients learn more about their emotional selves and their relationships.
People want the culturally authentic spa experience which Thailand can deliver. This is why it is held in such high regard around the world even though the Thai industry actually represents only two per cent of all the world’s spas.
Younger consumers — the ‘Gen Y’ — are coming to spas. They are environmentally responsible, ethnically diverse, have no brand loyalty and want high technology to achieve results. While Thailand remains more personal, or high touch, there will be significant development in the coming years to achieve more of a balance between high tech and high touch in all types of facilities. For now, high tech equipment is still mostly found in medical spas.
IMPROVING STANDARDS
As Thailand’s spa industry has matured, therapists and spa directors have become more professional. The Thai Spa Association under the European Union’s Asia Invest Programme with project partners including the Confederation of International Beauty Therapy and Cosmetology (CIBTAC), have conducted training courses in anatomy, physiology and body massage for 1,000 therapists from 50 spas around the country to upgrade spa quality to international standards. CIBTAC diplomas are a standard certification in Europe.
The Thai Spa Association is working on a benchmarking system with European standards that will launch in early 2010.
Thailand’s spa industry has set a precedent as the most regulated in the world. Many foreign officials come to Thailand to study the regulatory environment. The Ministry of Public Health (MOPH) requires all spas to register with its Medical Registration Department or a Provincial Health Office.
Since 2004, the MOPH has played a custodial role in the development of the spa industry, including working with the private sector to establish guidelines and standards. In 2008 it introduced a grading system with silver, gold and platinum ratings. The MOPH identifies high-potential products and works with operators and service providers in the development of new and improved medical and health services, as well as developing Thai herbal products for health.
Business operators who offer health and beauty spa services and Thai massage services must be certified by the MOPH. They are issued a certificate that must be renewed every two years by sending an application for re-inspection. At least half of all spa or massage centre therapists must be certified. But given that nearly all the 155 training institutes and 318 training courses are government certified, 95 per cent of all therapists are qualified to the government standard. Three training institutes in Thailand offer a CIBTAC-accredited curriculum, and one is accredited by the Comité International d'Esthétique et de Cosmétologie (CIDESCO), the Swiss-based beauty therapy association. Traditional Thai medicine is now a recognized university course, and the MOPH is looking to open a hospital specializing in traditional medicine.
INDUSTRY STATISTICS
According to Jacka of the Thai Spa Association, up until the global economic downturn, the Thai spa industry had been growing at rates in excess of 20 per cent for many years. As a relatively mature industry, it was therefore expected to slow significantly, and with the decline in foreign arrivals has actually experienced negative growth. This has been reversing and recent estimates for 2010 are projecting growth again of about six per cent. New spas are opening, and continued single digit seems likely for some years to come.
It is now some 17 years since the first spa appeared in the kingdom, and according to the Global Spa Summit, two per cent of all spas in the world are found in Thailand — giving it a ranking of 14th. The Thai spa industry ranks seventh in terms of the numbers employed, and 18th in terms of gross revenues.
Most of Thailand’s classic spas, which continue to improve as they age and always get favourite ratings from readers in the Condé Nast Traveler award lists, date back to the industry’s early years in the 1990s. Thai spas boomed in 2002, when the industry grew by nearly two-thirds and achieved a top-five world rating. According to the Intelligent Spas 2002 Thailand Spa Report, Thailand was the second-highest ranked spa destination globally in 2002 with 230 operators servicing 2.6 million international clients and generating revenue of US$85 million.
The situation according to the Thailand Spa Benchmark Report (2002–2010) put out by Intelligent Spas, a Singapore-based research service:
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Of the 585 spas operating in Thailand, 51 per cent are day spas and 49 per cent are destination spas co-located with accommodation. |
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The spa industry employs 11,240 people, a growth rate of 228 per cent since 2002. |
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In 2007, Thailand received 3,649,000 tourists who visited spas. |
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Thai spas collectively generated revenue of 8.3 billion baht (US$263 million) in 2007, a more than threefold increase since 2002. |
THAI SPA STRATEGIES 2009–2010
Intelligent Spas, projects that 76 per cent of Thailand’s new spas will be destination spas.
Thailand today offers great variety — from the lush garden spas of Chiang Mai, the all-natural spas of Phuket, the ‘green’ spas of Koh Samui to the diversity of day experiences and an increasing number of urban retreats in Bangkok. Whatever the variety, a spa experience in Thailand typically begins with consultations and ends with tea and often oil or well-being lessons for applying at home.
While accepting that foreign tourists continue to provide the key market segment, many Thai spa operators now target the local market for a sustainable business model, largely because of the economic downturn and political setbacks that have affected Thailand in recent years. This has had a number of results. Foreign spa tourists are looking for more natural spa experiences, be it crushed papaya, crushed coconut and ground up rice, or being outdoors in a more natural environment. Local clientele, however, generally look for something more high tech and in air conditioning. They are more likely to go for slimming machines, or systems for rejuvenating the face and detecting body or energy imbalances.
Traditional indigenous and cultural therapies are on the rise, with particular emphasis on natural or organic skin care. One world-class spa has started offering clients free Thai massage lessons. A 90-minute session enables clients to “take their Thai treatment home.”
Thailand’s main services consist of massage and water applications. Others include steam, sauna, exercise, nutritional therapy and dietary programmes, yoga, meditation, herbal medicine along with traditional and complementary medicine. Several non-medical spas have added physiotherapists to their staff to ensure that treatments are safe for each client. And more and more spas are offering cooking lessons in healthy cuisine and raw food diets.
There are also regional herbs and oils. In order to avoid losing local wisdom held largely by elders, and to build up their industry, several spa directors in the North have been working together to create Lanna massage, which combines northern rituals with the oils and music of the region. Many spas also emphasize regional rituals associated with Thai massage. In the North, for example, the practice of tok sen involves gentle knocking of wood on the shoulders to heal deep tissue.
THAI SPAS GO INTERNATIONAL
Another key change for Thailand’s spa industry has been international recognition. Much of what Thailand offers in terms of design, therapies and products is being copied or exported around the world. Because of the high level of regard for Thainess and the Thai spa industry, and increasing demand for culturally authentic spa experiences, overseas recruitment of Thai directors and therapists has jumped markedly in the past few years.
Many overseas businesses have turned to Thai consultants to improve their products and help with the selection of Thai therapists. Responding to the international need for Thainess, Thai spa companies are also setting up overseas operations for clients, taking on management of spas or setting up their own operations. The Thai Spa Association regards the Middle East as the major emerging market for Thai expertise.
Devarana Spa by Dusit International
Thailand-based spa operator Dusit International launched its Devarana Spa brand in 2001 and opened its first overseas spa operation at The Dusit Thani hotel in Manila in 2007. A second spa will open by the end of this year in a converted 15th century palace outside Florence, Italy, again in a Dusit hotel. Three locations will open in new Dusit hotel properties in 2010, first in New Delhi, then Hainan, China, followed with Cairo. A Devarana spa is also slated for a new hotel property in Abu Dhabi in 2011.
While demand for Thai sensibilities and techniques is growing outside the country, the spa experience at home continues to be refined as it establishes its place in the preventive health care industry. Balancing the natural treasures that Thailand offers in its beaches, mountains, cuisine and its culture with the best in treatments, the Thai spa experience offers all elements of the modern spa world — from Thai herbs and European peat muds to thalasso, vichy, tui na, lomi lomi and more.
Thai Spa Association
Tel: + 66 (0) 2665 7395
Fax: + 66 (0) 2665 7396
E-mail: info@thaispaassociation.com
Web site: www.thaispaassociation.com
AWARDS WON BY THAILAND AT THE ASIA SPA AWARDS 2009 IN HONG KONG
November 12, 2009 |
| Award Category |
Winner |
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Asian Spa Capital of the Year |
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Thailand |
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Destination Spa of the Year |
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Six Senses Destination Spa, Phuket, Thailand |
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Medi-Spa of the Year |
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S Medical Spa, Bangkok |
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Spa Personality of the Year |
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Karina Stewart, Co-founder, Brand & Concept Director, Kamalaya Wellness Sanctuary, Samui |
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Men's Spa Treatment of the Year |
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"Man Space Healing Balance Massage", i.sawan Residential Spa & Club, Grand Hyatt, Erawan Bangkok |
The Winners of the AsiaSpa Awards 2009
Please click to view |
| Source: AsiaSpa Awards 2009 release dated 13 November, 2009 |
ACKNOWLDEGEMENTS
News Room sincerely thanks Mr Andrew Jacka — President of the Thai Spa Association,
Anantara Resorts, Devarana Spa, Four Seasons (Chiang Mai and Koh Samui) for the kind support in providing information for this feature.
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