Top 10 Spa Trends to Watch in 2009 (One - Five)

24 December 2008

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SpaFinder, the global spa resource, announces “Top 10 Spa Trends To Watch In 2009,” the company’s sixth annual forecast of the emerging concepts that will shape the world of spa in 2009 and beyond.

The global spa industry’s extraordinary growth and resiliency has been fuelled by important new ideas in health, wellness, fitness, beauty, design, and cuisine. Despite a turbulent economy, SpaFinder President Susie Ellis believes 2009 will prove no exception, with the industry continuing to innovate, including developments such as the ‘in-transit’ spa experience, new offerings for the exploding Gen X and Y demographic, bolder eco-friendly initiatives, and the ramping up of global spa brands.

1. Energy Medicine

Everyone’s ‘talking about energy,’ and in 2009 the spa industry will follow suit, with high-voltage buzz around ‘energy medicine’ and therapies like Reiki, Qi Gong, chakra balancing, healing touch, and magnetic, light and sound therapy.

While there’s charged debate about how to define these practices, whether they’re actually ‘new,’ and whether there’s enough scientific evidence to warrant our attention, energy medicine is a hot topic in both the spa industry and, increasingly, the medical establishment. Discussion on the medical side (centring on electromagnetic forces, laser beams, etc.) diverges from concepts like ‘qi,’ ‘chi,’ ‘prana,’ ‘chakras, and ‘doshas’ used in the spa sector, where the emphasis is on clearing imbalances in a body’s energy field to promote healing.

Interesting examples are emerging: from bite-size doses of energy medicine alongside traditional massage at properties like Conrad Maldives Rangali Island—to the extensive use of visiting ‘practitioners’ at Thai Resorts like Trisara, Chiva-Dom and Six Senses—to Canyon Ranch’s elaborate ‘Healing Energy’ menu. The enlightened approach? An open mind, with encouragement for scientific verification…After all, there’s a lot we don’t know about the ‘body electric.’

2. Casinos and Spas: A Good Bet

Placing a high-end spa in a casino hotel was once a long-shot idea, but today casino spas are the most profitable spas in the world. These world-class facilities cater to a free-spending clientele that sees the value both of high-octane indulgence and recharging, healthy pursuits.

For instance, Venetian Resort Hotel Casino’s Canyon Ranch SpaClub has expanded to become the largest spa in the world (with 90 treatment rooms), and Las Vegas’ forthcoming Fountainbleu (slated for fall 2009) will be one of the most expensive spas ever built.

And the stakes are rising in Asia: Macao has surpassed Vegas in annual gambling revenue, and the gargantuan Venetian Resort features the impressive V Spa. Singapore, which recently legalized gambling, will see the opening of the Marina Bay Sands in 2009 (which will no doubt breath new life into the award-winning Sentosa Resort & Spa), and there’s also talk of Banyan Tree opening a casino-spa resort.

Some casino operators are designing fun, more approachable facilities catering to first-time spa-goers, such as the Northern Quest Resort in Washington State (opening late 2009) and Ameristar Resorts of Black Hawk and St. Charles, MO. Look for more blending of casino excitement and the luxury spa experience in 2009.

3. The Medical and Spa Tourism Shuffle

Watch for the line between spas, medical spas and hospitals to become ever more creatively blurred as the phenomenon of medical or wellness travel evolves. Global consumers are increasingly journeying to access the services they want, need, and can afford.

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