S - Global Spa & Wellness Summit

General Session
Monday, May 19th, 2008
11:30am – 12:15pm
Empire Room
Europe at the Crossroads: Embracing Change in France,
Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK
Panel Leader:
Victoria Fuller, Founder and Director, Travel PRCo, United Kingdom
Panelists:
Barbara Gavazzoli, Intl. Director of Marketing & Education, [Comfort Zone], Italy
Geraldine Howard, President, Aromatherapy Associates, United Kingdom
Alain Masazza, Director of Operations, LeSpa International, Accor Thalassa, France
Dagmar Rizzato, CEO, Rizzato Spa Consulting, Germany
Egli Stamatiou, Corporate Spa Manager, Hospes Hotels & Moments, Spain
Kevin Turnbull, Chief Executive, SpaFinder Europe, United Kingdom
Scribes:
Michal Gordon (Cornell), Alexis Palmer-Strong (Cornell), and Jennifer Simonian (EHL)
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Victoria Fuller (Panel Leader):
Diversity and cultural balance yield unique and indigenous spa cultures.
Europe has 47 countries with different languages, cultures, and histories.
There is no spa “package”:
• France is focused on thalassotherapy
• Germany is more focused on wellness and the medical arena
• Italy has greater interest in incorporating water into facilities
The European spa consumer is:
• Well-traveled
• Knowledgeable
• Discovering new treatments globally
• Sophisticated
Are Europeans getting the same level of treatment in Europe as they are abroad?
Europe has an $18.4 billion spa market—the largest in the world.
In 2006, there were 458 million tourist arrivals. 38 million active spa-goers.
Will that be sustainable with the increasing gas prices?
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There are 256 million Internet users in the European Union. In the five key markets in
the EU, there are 172 million Internet users, which is 56% of the population.
Technology and the Internet are vital to the industry - Internet provides a direct link
to purchase capabilities and profit potential.
Kevin Turnbull:
There is a sense of holiday entitlement in Europe.
“Forced into leisure”
The Baby boomer numbers are rising, this demographic is more health and wellness
focused and has more time to adhere to their personal concerns.
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Traditional spas
• Started in Europe
• Are wellness and therapy based
• Have a “no gain without pain” mentality
• See water as the focus (thalassotherapy or mineral)
These spas later adopted a more wellness and relaxation focus (stress management) and
are now developing a holistic lifestyle approach (with alternative therapies, detox, and
more).
Victoria Fuller (Panel Leader):
A few well-known Europeans spas today:
• Four Seasons, Provence, France
• Tschuggon Bergoase Spa, Switzerland
• Resort and Hideaway Schloss Eiman,
Germany
• Mandarin Oriental, Hyde Park, London
The leading brands of Europe have natural
and organic products.
Will it remain a natural approach or will it
become a more medical/surgical approach
to wellness? What is the future? In regards to
the rock and roll generation- is this a
trend?
Question to Panelists:
What are some of the biggest challenges in
the European Spa Market?
Barbara Gavazzoli:
The challenge is definition and terminology.
English speakers know what it all means, but people in Italy, and Spain, etc. are intimidated.
How do people in Italy and Spain define what they offer and manage guest
expectations?
These spas are good from a technical perspective, but not very good at caring for
people of many cultures.
Alain Masazza:
The challenge is two-fold:
• Profitability of the spas: Staffing is a high cost especially with so many expected benefits
for employees (vacation, medical, etc.). Also, salaries in that part of the world
are very high.
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• Education: Training and teaching spa staff about trends, mentality, customer focus,
and doing all of that with a focus on profitability at the same time.
Geraldine Howard:
It is important for the spa industry in Europe not to lose the water-based culture
because that is its very identity. In Europe, there is so much focus on wellness, health,
and healing, that to lose the “healing waters,” would mean losing its identity.
Victoria Fuller (Panel Leader):
There is a need to get people to recognize this (supporting Geraldine’s point) and also to
attract broader clientele from outside of Europe.
Dagmar Rizzato:
Keep in mind that although consumers spend a lot of time outside Europe, they are also
informed about traditional treatments.
Question to Panelists:
Are there any exciting new opportunities?
Egli Stamatiou:
In Spain, there is a lot of new development
and investment to attract tourists now.
Family spas are the most exciting new opportunity
being developed.
Dagmar Rizzato:
There is an increasing focus on how to raise
children in a healthy lifestyle. Also,
greening (sustainability) is a big trend.
Austria is really taking the lead on greening
(standards, design, etc.)
Barbara Gavazzoli:
The market has democratized a bit more. There are fewer Americans and more
Eastern Europeans (Belarus, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Moldova, Poland,
Romania, Russia, Slovakia, and Ukraine) in the market.
Alain Masazza:
There is an impact of the Euro. The industry however, is more affected by the slowdown
of the economy than by the strong Euro.
Egli Stamatiou:
It’s probable that the dollar will open doors for US development.
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Kevin Turnbull:
More American spas are now reaching out to the European market.
Audience Question:
France is a very difficult market (high salaries, great amount of vacation time). Is the
spa market dying out?
Victoria Fuller (Panel Leader):
No, but there is a convergence of beauty and spa.
Geraldine Howard:
There is a customer-driven trend toward high street spas. Dove has also introduced a
high street salon chain. At the end of the day, consumers are driving the industry.
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The Global Spa Summit is an international organization that
brings together leaders and visionaries to positively impact and
shape the future of the global spa and wellness industry.
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