Future Spa Manager: All you need to know to be successful

What is medical Spa & Wellness Management?

Medical Spa's combine medical applications, which are normally conducted in a medical practice, with the experience of a day spa.

While Western medicine primarily treats symptoms, it is complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) that has helped connect medicine with spa or wellness providers. CAM treatments and cures can include chiropractic, acupuncture, herbal teas and lotions, dietary changes, water cures, as well as meditation.

Some hotel operators are establishing themselves as spa destinations that are primarily medically oriented and have the best specialist staff. The guests stay there for some time, in order to recover for instance after a cancer treatment, to detoxify the body, to optimize the metabolism or to strive for a medical weight loss. To properly integrate these medical applications into spa settings, well-trained professionals and managers are needed.

Read more: What is a medical Spa?

Spa & Wellness Industry

The Medical Spa & Wellness Industry

An industry in growth

In times of high strain, stress and constant digital availability, the need for one's own well-being and self-care becomes more and more important. The demand for medical services in the hospitality and tourism sector is rising accordingly.

The global medical spa market was estimated at $11.1 billion in 2017 and is expected to reach $27.6 billion by 2025, representing an average annual growth rate (CAGR) of 12.2% over the entire period, according to an Allied Market Research.

According to the Global Wellness Institute, wellness tourism is expected to grow at an average annual rate of 7.5 percent through 2022. Wellness accounts for 58 percent of global health spending - a market that deserves attention.

A global view on the spa market

Aesthetic medicine and cosmetic beauty treatments as well as the increasing wellness trend in highly developed countries are driving the medical spa and wellness market. However, the high cost of medical spa treatments is limiting market growth, particularly in developing countries.

In 2017, North America was the dominant sales driver, fuelled by the growing wellness trend and the early introduction of new technologies in this area.

However, the Asia-Pacific region is expected to reach the highest CAGR between 2018 and 2025 as incomes increase in populous countries such as India and China. In addition, medical tourism will also stimulate market growth. India is the fastest growing country in the Asia-Pacific medical spa market and will grow at an average rate of 14.2% between 2018 and 2025.

Read more: Medical Spa Trends 2019

What drives the medical spa & wellness industry?

Today's guests expect a balanced package - from preventive approaches in the interest of general health such as nutrition and fitness, life coaching or stress management to a medical spa setting that enables a rapid recovery from a specific illness.

Medical spas target an ageing population

The world is getting older and older, which is also reflected in the medical spa treatments. The UN estimates that by 2040 the number of people older than 65 will have more than doubled compared to the previous 25 years. Even more important is the fact that the population older than 65 is at home in the world's most developed and highest-income regions. Here, a significant portion of the population can afford medical spa treatment. It is the only age segment that will see an increase over the next 20 years.

The older population is therefore not only the most important target group, in fact most medical spa offers also consist of anti-aging treatments.

Important trends in medical spa & wellness treatments

These are the biggest trends on the medical Spa & Wellness market:

Cross-industry future potential

The global demand for spa and wellness applications is growing without limits. Know-how and talents in this field are in international demand across the industry. This is a selection of industries in which professionals with a spa and wellness background are sought after:

What career opportunities are there for graduates in Spa & Wellness Management?

The spa and wellness industry is a fast-growing industry with immense potential. While you may be thinking about jobs like Spa Manager, there are many more positions to discover in this dynamic industry. Find the job that's right for you with a deep insight into the career opportunities for employees in the spa & wellness industry.

How can I study Spa & Wellness Management at SSTH?

The training in medical spa and wellness management is part of the hotel management education at EHL Swiss School of Tourism and Hospitality (SSTH) in Passugg. Based on their interests and future prospects, students can choose between several specialisations.

Highlights of the medical Spa & Wellness Management major

The hotel management students at SSTH are introduced to the basic principles of Spa & Wellness Management. The major in medical Spa & Wellness Management pursues a holistic approach. In addition to the general spa processes and procedures, special attention is paid to the market environment and the tourism embedding. Not only operational and economic aspects are essential, but also the conceptual view.

NB: The course content is continuously adapted to new trends and can vary.

Affective Spa & Wellness Management

During the development of the Spa and Wellness Management specialisation, emphasis was placed not only on teaching operational management skills, but also on specifically training the necessary soft skills.

Michael Hartmann, CEO of SSTH: "People seek experiences and want all their senses to be stimulated. This is particularly relevant for health and wellness tourism, where guests have very specific expectations and needs. It is therefore important to combine the advantages of medicine and hospitality in order to offer patients and guests a high-quality experience in all respects".

The affective and scientific approach of the SSTH teaching method guarantees that students meet these expectations in practice: They practice self-reflection, gain independence, develop self-confidence and sharpen empathy and professionalism - before taking on their role as "directors" in this new hospitality landscape.

This is done by getting to know the sensory and emotional factors of the spa and wellness industry and learning to apply them authentically in the context of the hotel industry.

Focus of the specialisation Spa & Wellness Management

In the major of the hotel management studies at the SSTH, the following fields of study form a focus and introduce the students to the world of medical spa management.

The experts and partners behind the spa study programme

On excursions and by experts the HF students get to know selected best practice examples in the specialisation of medical Spa & Wellness Management.