What have been the biggest industry disruptors? Global warming and COVID-19. Both have led to a shift towards health, wellness, transformative and regenerative tourism which impact every aspect of spa development and operations.
What key innovations can you identify? The most significant change has been the integration of technology. From wearable tech and biohacking as a shortcut to wellness to the explosion of meditation, breathwork and yoga apps and online wellbeing tutorials and courses.
The next step is to incorporate virtual reality, augmented reality and artificial intelligence into spa offerings to enhance the customer experience.
What do you wish had been invented? Advanced modalities that can enhance the quality of life in old age, perhaps driven by our understanding of epigenetics and telomeres and using vibrational medicine and advanced frequency-sound capsules that bring about cellular renovation and age reversal.
What’s holding spas back? While high-tech services will shape our future, the success of spas will only be guaranteed if we maintain our caring human approach. A therapist’s biggest asset is their healing hands, ability to serve from the heart, empathy, intention and whole-person approach, ensuring that each client’s needs and concerns are understood and addressed.
The industry runs the risk of packaging practices into commercial products, driven by greed and profit, rather than focusing on the actual value of wellbeing so treatments lose their true significance and profound importance.
What will the industry look like in 2050? I hope it will focus on human values and empowerment and that wellness is readily available to children, health providers, blue-collar workers and corporate employees – people of all ages, abilities and backgrounds.
Birthday message to Spa Business
"Spa Business is the most important wellness publication on the planet! It was the first magazine to take an interest in the spa industry in Mexico, Latin America and the Caribbean, it gave us a voice and placed us on the world map. It informs and inspires global professionals with its visionary articles"
More from spa industry leaders...
In celebration of Spa Business’ 20th anniversary, industry leaders take a look at how far the sector has come since the magazine’s inception in 2003, share personal career highlights and reveal their plans and ideas for the future.
Read more from this issue of Spa Business magazine
View contents of Spa Business 2023 issue 3
Editor's letter: Reflection point
As Spa Business celebrates its 20th birthday, Katie Barnes pauses for thought and rejoices in the industry’s evolution
Spa People: 20th anniversary issue: Anna Bjurstam
The strategic senior advisor at Six Senses and Raison d'Etre on being initiated as a shaman, why psychedelics are here to stay and her bigger fear for the global spa industry
Promotion: Klafs: Relax into wellbeing
Klafs and Studio F. A. Porsche have combined their design and wellness expertise to create an oasis for total-body relaxation
News report: Eastern promise
Japan’s spa industry is valued at US$4.2 billion and is part of the world's third highest-performing wellness economy
Jeremy McCarthy: Theory of evolution
From spa to wellness and now leisure – Spa Business’ contributing editor looks at where hospitality experiences are heading
Promotion: Lemi: Built to last
Lemi is committed to leading with innovation to create
cutting-edge treatment room solutions that excel
in terms of performance and eco-credentials
Promotion: G.M. COLLIN: Collagen pioneers
GM Collin’s expertise in collagen research and product formulation has resulted in the creation of a new serum that combats age-related skin degeneration
Promotion: Comfort Zone: A brighter future
Consumers are increasingly interested in reducing dark spots and hyperpigmentation and a new line from Comfort Zone has been launched to address this emerging need
Promotion: Art of Cryo: Life changing experience
Vikki and Robbie are often exhausted after work. A visit to the spa to experience
the Art of Cryo Tech-Spa Module is a chance to re-set and rejuvenate together
The Spa Life UK Convention returns from 21–23 June 2026 at Whittlebury Park Hotel, Spa &
Golf Resort, bringing together spa managers, directors and owners for two days of focused
education, meaningful connection and commercial insight. [more...]
Le Atelier by C.O.D.E. doesn't offer a standard bespoke service, it provides a highly
customised approach to designing massage beds and loungers in high-end wellness
environments. [more...]
+ More featured suppliers
COMPANY PROFILES
Saskia Spa
Founded in 2014, Saskia Spa continues to evolve as a professional luxury skincare brand. It forms pa [more...]
What have been the biggest industry disruptors? Global warming and COVID-19. Both have led to a shift towards health, wellness, transformative and regenerative tourism which impact every aspect of spa development and operations.
What key innovations can you identify? The most significant change has been the integration of technology. From wearable tech and biohacking as a shortcut to wellness to the explosion of meditation, breathwork and yoga apps and online wellbeing tutorials and courses.
The next step is to incorporate virtual reality, augmented reality and artificial intelligence into spa offerings to enhance the customer experience.
What do you wish had been invented? Advanced modalities that can enhance the quality of life in old age, perhaps driven by our understanding of epigenetics and telomeres and using vibrational medicine and advanced frequency-sound capsules that bring about cellular renovation and age reversal.
What’s holding spas back? While high-tech services will shape our future, the success of spas will only be guaranteed if we maintain our caring human approach. A therapist’s biggest asset is their healing hands, ability to serve from the heart, empathy, intention and whole-person approach, ensuring that each client’s needs and concerns are understood and addressed.
The industry runs the risk of packaging practices into commercial products, driven by greed and profit, rather than focusing on the actual value of wellbeing so treatments lose their true significance and profound importance.
What will the industry look like in 2050? I hope it will focus on human values and empowerment and that wellness is readily available to children, health providers, blue-collar workers and corporate employees – people of all ages, abilities and backgrounds.
Birthday message to Spa Business
"Spa Business is the most important wellness publication on the planet! It was the first magazine to take an interest in the spa industry in Mexico, Latin America and the Caribbean, it gave us a voice and placed us on the world map. It informs and inspires global professionals with its visionary articles"
More from spa industry leaders...
In celebration of Spa Business’ 20th anniversary, industry leaders take a look at how far the sector has come since the magazine’s inception in 2003, share personal career highlights and reveal their plans and ideas for the future.
Read more from this issue of Spa Business magazine
View contents of Spa Business 2023 issue 3
Editor's letter: Reflection point
As Spa Business celebrates its 20th birthday, Katie Barnes pauses for thought and rejoices in the industry’s evolution
Spa People: 20th anniversary issue: Anna Bjurstam
The strategic senior advisor at Six Senses and Raison d'Etre on being initiated as a shaman, why psychedelics are here to stay and her bigger fear for the global spa industry
Promotion: Klafs: Relax into wellbeing
Klafs and Studio F. A. Porsche have combined their design and wellness expertise to create an oasis for total-body relaxation
News report: Eastern promise
Japan’s spa industry is valued at US$4.2 billion and is part of the world's third highest-performing wellness economy
Jeremy McCarthy: Theory of evolution
From spa to wellness and now leisure – Spa Business’ contributing editor looks at where hospitality experiences are heading
Promotion: Lemi: Built to last
Lemi is committed to leading with innovation to create
cutting-edge treatment room solutions that excel
in terms of performance and eco-credentials
Promotion: G.M. COLLIN: Collagen pioneers
GM Collin’s expertise in collagen research and product formulation has resulted in the creation of a new serum that combats age-related skin degeneration
Promotion: Comfort Zone: A brighter future
Consumers are increasingly interested in reducing dark spots and hyperpigmentation and a new line from Comfort Zone has been launched to address this emerging need
Promotion: Art of Cryo: Life changing experience
Vikki and Robbie are often exhausted after work. A visit to the spa to experience
the Art of Cryo Tech-Spa Module is a chance to re-set and rejuvenate together
A recent survey by the UK Spa Association (UKSA) into the industry’s approach to cancer care
has revealed that almost half of participating respondents (46 per cent) are unaware that
cancer is a disability and guests with a cancer diagnosis must be given
Mexican operator, Solmar Hotels and Resorts, is hosting a series of events in celebration of
Global Wellness Day, including a Temazcal ceremony at its Playa Grande Resort and Spa in Los
Cabos.
Mandarin Oriental has announced a standalone residence brand, Mansions, which will debut at
Emirates Palace, Mandarin Oriental Mansions, Abu Dhabi, in 2029.
Four Seasons Resort The Nam Hai in Hoi An, Vietnam, has put together a Global Wellness Day
(GWD) agenda with activations rooted in nature and shaped by four pillars of Joy – in
alignment with the day’s theme #JoyMagenta.
The Global Wellness Summit (GWS) will celebrate its 20th anniversary at the 2026 event in
Phuket, Thailand, later this year with the theme: The Science, Art and Soul of Wellness.
Auko, an all-inclusive development, is opening in Phong Nha in Vietnam in Q3 2026, with a
series of 30 tented eco-lodges and wellness hospitality operations by Lumina Wellbeing.
Therme Manchester’s 28-acre development, which will include interconnected glass pavilions
that measure 65,000sq m, will be the largest bathing and wellbeing attraction in the world once
complete, according to prof David Russell, CEO of Therme UK.
Naples Beach Club, a Four Seasons Resort, has opened a 2,800sq m spa called The Sanctuary,
with the design and concept inspired by the Native American people that populated Florida’s
Southwest coast – the Calusa.
Swire Hotels’ luxury hospitality brand Upper House has revealed it will roll out its two-day
House of Healing retreats at its three hotels in Hong Kong, Chengdu and Shanghai.
The Spa Life UK Convention returns from 21–23 June 2026 at Whittlebury Park Hotel, Spa &
Golf Resort, bringing together spa managers, directors and owners for two days of focused
education, meaningful connection and commercial insight. [more...]
Le Atelier by C.O.D.E. doesn't offer a standard bespoke service, it provides a highly
customised approach to designing massage beds and loungers in high-end wellness
environments. [more...]
+ More featured suppliers
COMPANY PROFILES
Saskia Spa Founded in 2014, Saskia Spa continues to evolve as a professional luxury skincare brand. It forms pa [more...]
