Spa Business issue 2 2012 - Leisure Opportunities

RESORT SPA
The spa has a Kneipp pool and relaxation area
����������
are two
Kuwaits,” says
Patrick Taffin
d’Heursel, Six
��here
Senses Spa
In the first of a two-part series on the
Kuwaiti spa market, we investigate
the driving forces in the sector and
explains: “Kuwaitis have money,
but they don’t just spend it without
thinking. They’ve experienced spa
standards around the world, so they
have high expectations. They’re happy
director at the new Hotel Missoni in
Kuwait City. “There’s the more tradi-
visit the new Six Senses Spa at the
to spend, but only if they feel they’re
getting value and good service.”
tional Kuwait, typified by the burqa, fashion-branded Hotel Missoni
But while Kuwaitis travel interna-
and then there’s the Kuwait that goes
tionally, Kuwait itself is not on the
to spas. The difference in mindset is
tourist map – a fact Oliver attributes
hard to attribute to any one thing, but as a Kuwaitis have the time and disposable to its dry status; the British Embassy is the
general rule those who use our services tend income to generate a high demand for good only place in the city that is allowed to serve
to be more widely travelled.”
quality leisure. And there is, says Taffin alcohol. As a result, although new five-star
This dichotomy is evident just walking d’Heursel, a growing focus on wellness in hotels are popping up at a rate of “at least
around the city. While there are women this leisure time: “I see a lot of Kuwaitis now one a year” according to Al Corniche spa
wearing burqas, in fact it is often the men concerned about their health, obesity, eating director Maria Davydova, they are used
who are traditionally dressed, with the properly and taking care of themselves. Eve- almost exclusively by a corporate clientele
women adopting a more westernised fashryone wants a quick fix, but they’re learning on short business trips from the Gulf region,
ion. Women also work and drive, and overall that you have to change your lifestyle to be and occupancy rates are very low.
there’s a relatively liberal feeling, particularly able to maintain any benefits.”
So what does this mean for a spa such as
when compared to Kuwait’s neighbours.
Six Senses located in a new hotel? “Our busi-
Locals are also financially well-off. Around DISCERNING CLIENTELE
ness is mostly external, on a day spa basis,”
92 per cent of Kuwaitis work for the gov- With the majority of spa-goers being well- says Taffin d’Heursel. “The hotel is corporate,
ernment, earning at least kwd800 (us$2,900, travelled, English is the language spoken in not leisure, and only about 4 or 5 per cent of
€2,150, £2,750) a month says Gerard Oliver, the spas – a clear benefit for the therapists at hotel guests use the spa and gym.”
general manager of the nearby Al Corniche Al Corniche and Six Senses Spa, who have Launched in February 2011, it’s the sec-
Club Resort and Spa – a facility that we focus all come from a wide array of non-Arabic ond Hotel Missoni in the world; the first is
more on in part two of our Kuwaiti series. speaking countries.
located in Edinburgh in the UK. Although
With working hours also relatively short This international perspective has also the 169-bedroom hotel itself was designed
(rush hour is usually mid-afternoon), led to high expectations. Taffin d’Heursel by the fashion house designer Rosita Mis-
86 Read Spa Business online spabusiness.com / digital
KATE CRACKNELL » JOURNALIST » SPA BUSINESS
part one
While in the Missoni fashion hotel, the spa still reflects the Six Senses style
SPA BUSINESS 2 2012 © Cybertrek 2012