Understanding The Global Spa Industry: Spa Management

Description:
The spa industry is currently the fastest growing segment of the hospitality and leisure industry with revenues exceeding those from amusement parks, box office receipts, vacation ownership gross sales and ski resort ticket sales. 'Understanding the Global Spa Industry' is the first book to examine management practices in this industry and offers a groundbreaking and comprehensive approach to global spa management, covering everything from the beginnings of the industry through to contemporary management and social and ethical issues. With contributions from internationally renowned business leaders, practitioners and academics, this unique book is packed with case studies, examples and advice for all those working in, and studying, the international spa industry. 'Understanding the Global Spa Industry' brings an analytic lens to the spa movement, examining past, current and future trends and the potential for shaping wellness and health services in the 21st century. This book examines: spa services and the development of the spa business from its historical beginnings to the size of the market today; business development and planning, spa operations and business models; spa products and technologies, retailing and the application of branding and marketing strategies; infrastructure, design and environmental issues including sustainability and social and environmental benchmarking; and human resources issues from education and training to professional and regulatory issues and professional and corporate ethics and values.

Table of Contents:
Introduction; The scope of the spa industry: historical and cultural antecedents: Spa philosophy and cultural influences; Towards a taxonomy of spas; Social trends and market size:Global wellness movement and spa utilisation trends; Social trends; Growth and turnover in the spa industry; Economic and business perspectives: Spa development and management; Economic modelling; Human resource development; Signature service; Intellecutal proerty protection; Industry sectors: Spas and the hospitality industry; Spas and the healthcare industry; Other business models of spas; Professionalism and education: Training and education; Standards of practice and training; Research base; Communication; Ethics and social responsibility; Marketing and selling the brand: Branding, concept development and retailing; the concepts of signature treatments/products; beauty and skin care; Spa lifestyle products; Spa cuisine; Future trends; Index

Author Biography:
Edited by Gerry Bodeker, Senior faculty member in public health, University of Oxford Medical School, Research Associate at the Oxford Centre for International Development and Adjunct Professor of Epidemiology, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA; and Marc Cohen, Professor & Head of Department of Complementary Medicine, RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia