ISPA's Global Spa Study

The International SPA Association has released initial findings from the first ISPA Global Consumer Report, which looks at spagoers around the world. The full report is scheduled for release in November, 2007, and promises to fascinate anyone who is interested in spas as a global phenomenon. Here's what they've released so far:

Initial findings point to more than 150 million active spa-goers worldwide. In terms of sheer numbers the United States has more active spagoers than any other country -- 32.2 million. Thailand comes in second at 27.1 million, followed by Japan at 19.1 million, Italy at 17.8 million and Germany at 11.5 million.

Then there's a big dropoff, with 6.7 million spagoers in the United Kingdom, 6.3 million in France, 6.1 million in Spain, 3.7 million in Canada, 3.2 million in Australia, 2.9 million Austria, and 2.1 million in Singapore. I'll be interested to see what percentage of a nation goes to spas -- not just sheer numbers of people.

Regardless of where they live, the primary reasons people visit spas are to relax and relieve/reduce stress.

The study also looks at spagoers by gender and here there are huge differences by country. In Germany, which has a strong bathing tradition, and Thailand, where massage is inexpensive and widely enjoyed, spagoing is almost evenly matched between men and women. (53% vs 47% and 54% vs. 46 %, respectively.)

Spagoing by men has grown greatly in the United States, but they're still just 31% of the market -- less than most of the other countries surveyed. Only Canada at 29% and the United Kingdom at 22% had a lower percentage of men going to spas.

The spa-behavioral differences by gender are consistently different. In general, men tend to seek treatments that “get work done,” meaning they enjoy a deep tissue massage or other body treatments. Women, on the other hand, are much more likely to receive treatments that enhance their appearance, such as services for their face, hands or feet.

The biggest surprise to me was what kind of treatments are popular around the world -- Swedish massage does not rule everywhere, as it does in the U.S. In the U.S. massage, 63% of spagoers have received a massage in the last 12 months, followed by manicure (57%) and pedicure (56%).

But other countries have very different preferences. Thailand's #1 treatment is reflexology (65% in the last 12 months). And sauna and steam bath (which don't require a therapist) are the preferred modality in Japan, Italy, Germany, France, Spain and Austria. Facials are the preferred treatment in U.K., Australia, Canada and Singapore.

ISPA’s global research is being conducted through studying consumers in multiple Asian and European countries, as well as the United States and Canada. The research will identify key items such as the number of spa-goers, frequency of visits as well as treatment trends and pricing.

The 2007 Asia-Pacific Consumer Report will be released in June on ISPA’s Web site www.experienceispa.com. The European portion is being conducted in partnership with SPA&INSTITUT by Beyond Beauty and will be released during the Beyond Beauty Paris Conference and Exhibition in October in Paris.

The global report will be presented during the 2007 ISPA Conference & Expo in November in Kissimmee, Fla., U.S.A. ISPA will also release new industry figures for North America including revenues, number of spas and visits. All of ISPA’s research is available through www.experienceispa.com.