Yes! Send me the FREE digital editions of Spa Business and Spa Business insider magazines and the FREE weekly Spa Business and Spa Business insider ezines and breaking news alerts!
Katrin Jakobsdóttir, Prime Minister, Iceland / Truba7113/SHUTTERSTOCK
At a time when wellness is truly at the forefront of people’s minds, Icelandic Prime Minister Katrín Jakobsdóttir, has urged for wellbeing to be given greater priority than GDP and economic growth.
Speaking at London’s Chatham House international affairs think tank in early February, just before coronavirus took hold globally, Jakobsdóttir called for “an alternative future, based on wellbeing and inclusive growth”. She urged governments to take up both green and family-friendly targets, instead of just concentrating on economic growth.
Iceland is a member of the Wellbeing Economy Alliance (WEAll), a recently formed body working to change the economic system so it focuses on wellness. It defines a wellbeing economy as one that delivers human and ecological wellbeing.
New Zealand and Scotland are also a part of the WEAll and Jakobsdóttir recently teamed up with Prime Minister of New Zealand Jacinda Ardern and Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon to promote a “wellbeing agenda”.
With matters of wellbeing and happiness being recognised as essential to the health of democracy and political stability, this can only be positive news for the spa industry which has been built around this ethos.
Writing for the Evening Standard, Jakobsdóttir confirmed that the Icelandic government is also planning to finance this initiative, saying: “A wellbeing budget is in the works, with a number of priorities already having been identified. These include the improvement of mental health and reduction of carbon emissions.”
When asked whether the creation of a ‘wellbeing budget’ was achievable for both developed and developing countries, Jakobsdóttir responded: “You can always have an emphasis on wellbeing, it’s just about how you prioritise it in the public budget”.
Jakobsdóttir heads up The Icelandic Prime Minister’s Committee on Measurements for Wellbeing in Iceland. “This committee has developed 39 wellbeing indicators that include economic, environmental and social factors, GDP and other economic indicators are among them, but in a new context with social and environmental indicators, to aim for the delicate balance of sustainable development.”
The indicators are linked to the UN Sustainable Development Goals – an initiative which spas are also looking to align with (see SB20/1 p44) – and are used to inform government policy formulation.
According to a survey commissioned by the committee, the general public in Iceland views health to be the most significant factor in the quality of life, followed by relationships, housing and making a living.
Read more from this issue of Spa Business magazine
View contents of Spa Business 2020 issue 2
Editor’s letter: Our greatest challenge
Spa and wellness businesses will reopen while COVID-19 is still circulating in the community, meaning we have to find models which work in this new reality, says Katie Barnes. So how will this change the industry?
On the menu: Pivot to digital
Which forward-thinking spas are taking their offerings online during the coronavirus pandemic?
Interview: Mary Celeste Beall
The celebrated Blackberry Farm has opened a sister property in the mountains of Tennessee. The owner tells Spa Business why wellness through nature underpins the new destination
Everyone’s talking about: COVID-19
Spa operators, wellness companies and organisations from around the world talk to Spa Business about the impact of coronavirus and what to expect down the line
Promotion: Simone Gibertoni: Clinique La Prairie
World-renowned medical spa, Clinique La Prairie, is creating a global network of
locations to support clients with their wellbeing, every day of the year, says its CEO
Research: First responders
ISPA’s COVID-19 survey offers insights into how the industry has responded to the global pandemic. Spa Business magazine examines the findings
Hotel spa: Country life: The Newt
Karen Roos, owner of the world-renowned hotel The Newt, on design, gardens and a spa housed in an old cow barn
Insights: Calls to action
Industry leaders around the world come together in a crisis to share ideas and innovations in a series of GWS Collaboration calls. Spa Business magazine reports on the highlights
Insights: Webinar wisdom
Spa Business shares its industry-relevant takeaways from the masses of webinars that are being streamed worldwide
Research: Measure for measure
Intelligent Spas reveals its latest global spa benchmarks and explores what they mean in today’s ever-changing climate
Focus on: Extreme wellness
Spa Business tries out two boundary-pushing, cold immersion retreats led by ‘The Iceman’ Wim Hof and Dr Marc Cohen
Promotion: Barr and Wray: Creating
a seamless journey
With 60 years of experience, Barr and Wray has long been known for excellence in technical design for wellness. Design director Graeme Banks explains the company also offers interior design services
Interview: Juliu Horvath
The founder of Gyrotonic and Gyrokinesis tells Spa Business why he’ll never stop adapting his famous movement modality
Promotion: ISPA publishes Reopening Toolkit
A much-needed guide by ISPA gives essential advice on business planning, standard operating procedures, marketing and communications to support spas through the coronavirus crisis
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...]
In today’s premium spa environment, every detail shapes the guest experience – right down to
the softness of towels and the freshness of linens. [more...]
+ More featured suppliers
COMPANY PROFILES
RKF Luxury Linen
RKF Luxury Linen, established in the East of France for several decades, owns an artisanal know-how [more...]
Elemental Herbology
Founded in 2008 by a Traditional Chinese Medicine Practitioner, Elemental Herbology is a spa, retail [more...]
Katrin Jakobsdóttir, Prime Minister, Iceland / Truba7113/SHUTTERSTOCK
At a time when wellness is truly at the forefront of people’s minds, Icelandic Prime Minister Katrín Jakobsdóttir, has urged for wellbeing to be given greater priority than GDP and economic growth.
Speaking at London’s Chatham House international affairs think tank in early February, just before coronavirus took hold globally, Jakobsdóttir called for “an alternative future, based on wellbeing and inclusive growth”. She urged governments to take up both green and family-friendly targets, instead of just concentrating on economic growth.
Iceland is a member of the Wellbeing Economy Alliance (WEAll), a recently formed body working to change the economic system so it focuses on wellness. It defines a wellbeing economy as one that delivers human and ecological wellbeing.
New Zealand and Scotland are also a part of the WEAll and Jakobsdóttir recently teamed up with Prime Minister of New Zealand Jacinda Ardern and Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon to promote a “wellbeing agenda”.
With matters of wellbeing and happiness being recognised as essential to the health of democracy and political stability, this can only be positive news for the spa industry which has been built around this ethos.
Writing for the Evening Standard, Jakobsdóttir confirmed that the Icelandic government is also planning to finance this initiative, saying: “A wellbeing budget is in the works, with a number of priorities already having been identified. These include the improvement of mental health and reduction of carbon emissions.”
When asked whether the creation of a ‘wellbeing budget’ was achievable for both developed and developing countries, Jakobsdóttir responded: “You can always have an emphasis on wellbeing, it’s just about how you prioritise it in the public budget”.
Jakobsdóttir heads up The Icelandic Prime Minister’s Committee on Measurements for Wellbeing in Iceland. “This committee has developed 39 wellbeing indicators that include economic, environmental and social factors, GDP and other economic indicators are among them, but in a new context with social and environmental indicators, to aim for the delicate balance of sustainable development.”
The indicators are linked to the UN Sustainable Development Goals – an initiative which spas are also looking to align with (see SB20/1 p44) – and are used to inform government policy formulation.
According to a survey commissioned by the committee, the general public in Iceland views health to be the most significant factor in the quality of life, followed by relationships, housing and making a living.
Read more from this issue of Spa Business magazine
View contents of Spa Business 2020 issue 2
Editor’s letter: Our greatest challenge
Spa and wellness businesses will reopen while COVID-19 is still circulating in the community, meaning we have to find models which work in this new reality, says Katie Barnes. So how will this change the industry?
On the menu: Pivot to digital
Which forward-thinking spas are taking their offerings online during the coronavirus pandemic?
Interview: Mary Celeste Beall
The celebrated Blackberry Farm has opened a sister property in the mountains of Tennessee. The owner tells Spa Business why wellness through nature underpins the new destination
Everyone’s talking about: COVID-19
Spa operators, wellness companies and organisations from around the world talk to Spa Business about the impact of coronavirus and what to expect down the line
Promotion: Simone Gibertoni: Clinique La Prairie
World-renowned medical spa, Clinique La Prairie, is creating a global network of
locations to support clients with their wellbeing, every day of the year, says its CEO
Research: First responders
ISPA’s COVID-19 survey offers insights into how the industry has responded to the global pandemic. Spa Business magazine examines the findings
Hotel spa: Country life: The Newt
Karen Roos, owner of the world-renowned hotel The Newt, on design, gardens and a spa housed in an old cow barn
Insights: Calls to action
Industry leaders around the world come together in a crisis to share ideas and innovations in a series of GWS Collaboration calls. Spa Business magazine reports on the highlights
Insights: Webinar wisdom
Spa Business shares its industry-relevant takeaways from the masses of webinars that are being streamed worldwide
Research: Measure for measure
Intelligent Spas reveals its latest global spa benchmarks and explores what they mean in today’s ever-changing climate
Focus on: Extreme wellness
Spa Business tries out two boundary-pushing, cold immersion retreats led by ‘The Iceman’ Wim Hof and Dr Marc Cohen
Promotion: Barr and Wray: Creating
a seamless journey
With 60 years of experience, Barr and Wray has long been known for excellence in technical design for wellness. Design director Graeme Banks explains the company also offers interior design services
Interview: Juliu Horvath
The founder of Gyrotonic and Gyrokinesis tells Spa Business why he’ll never stop adapting his famous movement modality
Promotion: ISPA publishes Reopening Toolkit
A much-needed guide by ISPA gives essential advice on business planning, standard operating procedures, marketing and communications to support spas through the coronavirus crisis
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.
LVMH-owned beauty house Guerlain will launch up to five spas with partners a year as part of
its plan to expand globally, according to the brand’s international spa and wellness director,
Diane Davody.
A new global study by Kevin Kelly and Peter Yesawich, called WELLSurvey 2.0, has revealed
more than half of consumers in the UK, US and Germany would not choose numerous high-
profile wellness resort brands for a future trip.
Luxury hospitality and wellness pioneer Jeremy McCarthy has launched Leisure Alchemy, a
digital platform that will provide professionals with strategic guidance on how to build
transformational leisure experiences that drive profit.
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...]
In today’s premium spa environment, every detail shapes the guest experience – right down to
the softness of towels and the freshness of linens. [more...]
+ More featured suppliers
COMPANY PROFILES
RKF Luxury Linen RKF Luxury Linen, established in the East of France for several decades, owns an artisanal know-how [more...]
