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The spa industry has changed dramatically over the last years. Our industry is no longer defined by luxurious facilities merely concerned with pampering their guests. Today, modern spas and wellness centres have become important sources of complementary therapies where guests can satisfy their increasing demands for preventive treatments and healthy lifestyles. The following article will give you an idea of how we got there and why we think this will continue to be a popular trend within our industry.<\/p>\n
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La industria del spa ha cambiado dr\u00e1sticamente en los \u00faltimos a\u00f1os. De hecho, nuestra industria ya no est\u00e1 definida por lujosas instalaciones empe\u00f1adas exclusivamente en mimar a sus hu\u00e9spedes. Hoy en d\u00eda, los spas y centros de wellness modernos se han convertido en importantes fuentes de terapias complementarias en donde los clientes pueden satisfacer sus crecientes demandas por tratamientos preventivos y estilos de vida saludables. El siguiente art\u00edculo le dar\u00e1 una idea de c\u00f3mo hemos llegado hasta all\u00ed y por qu\u00e9 creemos que esto seguir\u00e1 siendo una popular tendencia en nuestra industria.<\/p>\n
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A new environment<\/strong><\/p>\n The dramatic changes we have witnessed within the spa and wellness industries have been dictated by significant changes in the environment around us. To begin with, the arrival of the financial crisis forced our industry not only to revisit and optimise its business models but also to explore new business opportunities.<\/p>\n Ironically, one of those opportunities came from yet another crisis, which has been provoked by the structural failures affecting healthcare systems all over the world. Apart from the human and financial costs associated with systems defined by ineffective reactive models towards health, our industry has also taken advantage of a new awareness regarding the overall need for prevention.<\/p>\n In addition to such awareness, there has been a shift in the health paradigm where the consumer, not the unquestioned doctor, is at the centre of the system. Furthermore, technology and globalisation have provided customers with the power to shop around for health treatments. In other words, we live in a world where the rules of the game have totally changed.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Building synergies<\/strong><\/p>\n All these changes have pushed our industry to go beyond the idea of luxury and exclusivity that has surrounded spas and wellness centres for so many years. While the whole pampering concept is still tightly linked to our industry, the ‘health benefit’ behind our treatments have become a decisive factor in bringing in more costumers to our field.<\/p>\n The creation of synergies with the medical field has been one of the channels that our industry has been using to reinforce the ‘health benefit’ behind most of our therapies and treatments. According to Susie Ellis<\/a>, President of SpaFinder Wellness, this is exactly why in the US “the number of hospitals offering alternative\/spa services has tripled since 2000.”<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Spa evidence<\/strong><\/p>\n Besides the burden posed by the healthcare crisis and the renewed interest for preventive therapies and treatments, the elaboration and dissemination of tangible evidence regarding the health benefits behind our services have provided a big contribution to the development of synergies with the medical field.<\/p>\n Since the launch of SpaEvidence.com<\/a>, the first portal in the world providing medical evidence for spa and wellness treatments, our industry has been gaining room regarding the potential role that spas and wellness centres can play in today’s health paradigm. No wonder why “of the 41 million Americans that use mind-body therapies like yoga or tai-chi, 6.4 million are now doing them because they were ‘prescribed’ by their medical provider.”<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Holistic approaches<\/strong><\/p>\n Everything we have mentioned above has also encouraged spas and wellness centres to develop holistic approaches where they can combine their traditional pampering services with complementary therapies aimed at meeting the needs of costumer looking for preventive treatments and healthier lifestyles.<\/p>\n Moving forwards, we expect to see more concepts like those developed by ESPA life at the Corinthia Hotel where guests can enjoy “revolutionary lifestyle programmes, covering everything from biological ageing, detox, sleep, weight-loss, pregnancy and general vitality.”<\/p>\n Considering all the changes in the environment around us, the imminent need for preventive approaches towards health and the elaboration of further medical evidence, we strongly believe spas and wellness centre will strengthen their role as providers of complimentary therapies. We really think this is a great business opportunity to embrace.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Un nuevo entorno<\/strong><\/p>\n Los dram\u00e1ticos cambios que hemos presenciado en las industrias de spa y wellness han sido dictados por cambios importantes en el entorno que nos rodea. Para comenzar, la llegada de la crisis financiera oblig\u00f3 a la industria no s\u00f3lo a revisar y optimizar sus modelos de negocio, sino tambi\u00e9n a explorar nuevas oportunidades econ\u00f3micas.<\/p>\n Ir\u00f3nicamente, una de esas oportunidades lleg\u00f3 a trav\u00e9s de otra crisis provocada por los fallos estructurales que han venido afectando los sistemas de salud de todo el mundo. Adem\u00e1s de los costes laborales y financieros asociados con sistemas definidos por la ineficacia de modelos reactivos hacia la salud, nuestra industria tambi\u00e9n ha sacado provecho de una nueva conciencia relacionada con la necesidad general de prevenci\u00f3n.<\/p>\n Aparte de esta sensibilizaci\u00f3n, se ha producido un cambio en el paradigma de la salud en donde el consumidor, no el m\u00e9dico incuestionable, est\u00e1 al centro del sistema. Mas aun, la tecnolog\u00eda y la globalizaci\u00f3n han brindado a los consumidores la posibilidad de poder irse de compras por tratamientos de salud. En otras palabras, vivimos en un mundo en donde las reglas del juego han cambiado totalmente.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Creaci\u00f3n de sinergias<\/strong><\/p>\n Todos estos cambios han llevado a nuestra industria a ir m\u00e1s all\u00e1 de la idea de lujo y\u00a0 exclusividad que ha rodeado a los spas y centros de wellness durante tantos a\u00f1os. Si bien el concepto de mimo sigue estando estrechamente vinculado a nuestra industria, el ‘beneficio de salud’ detr\u00e1s de nuestros tratamientos se ha convertido en un factor decisivo para atraer m\u00e1s clientes a nuestro campo.<\/p>\n La creaci\u00f3n de sinergias con el campo de la medicina ha sido uno de los canales que nuestra industria ha estado utilizando para reforzar el ‘beneficio de salud’ que est\u00e1 detr\u00e1s de la mayor\u00eda de nuestras terapias y tratamientos. De acuerdo con Susie Ellis<\/a>, Presidente de SpaFinder Wellness, es precisamente por esta v\u00eda que en los Estados Unidos “el n\u00famero de hospitales que ofrecen servicios alternativos y de spa se ha triplicado desde el a\u00f1o 2000”.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n