Spa industry aims for stable market presence

CEBU, Philippines - As part of the services highlighted in the promotion of Cebu as health and wellness destination in Asia, the Spa industry is bullish on stabilizing their presence and their services in the coming year.

 “For 2009, we have matured. But for 2010, we see for it to stabilize,” shared Johnie Lim, the president of Spa and Wellness Assocation in Cebu .

Lim said that the industry already had a lot of developments starting of with the growing number of spa business players in Cebu- from small to big operations.

But Lim said that they see the need find means for the industry to be stable especially with the standards that they are offering that would go hand in hand with the efforts of other industries promoting Cebu as a tourist destination with the best services.

According to Lim, they need to address this since more and more tourists are arriving in Cebu over the months and are expected to double up in the coming year.

Lim also said that not only on tourists but also with the domestic market which has increased in 2009 and more people are becoming fond of the spa services.

This is why Lim said that they are looking forward for the 2010 where they will be having a consultant from Netherlands that would lecture on professionalism in the spa industry and will be teaching international standards to the local players.

Lim said that this is a good way of opening the year for the industry where they would have the chance to hear from an expert spa entrepreneur.

He shared that the consultancy is made possible through a free grant given by Netherlands wherein the expert would be here for 14 days to focus on the right services that the spas should while maintaining high standards.

Lim said that this would also be good for the small spa operators who could learn a lot in running their businesses the best way possible.

“Small spas will still be here next year but will follow high quality and standards,” said Lim who added that they are not expecting any new players in the spa industry in 2010 but they are only hoping that the present spa operators would use the time to improve and upgrade their services.

Lim also said that in 2010, he is not expecting “Hilot” to be fully recognized and supported by the public since it is still in the growth period.

“It would still be hard and I don’t expect it to have a full-blown acceptance by 2010 since it is still on the developmental stage. Right now, Hilot is still on the initial impact.”

But Lim said that they will be working hard on this to sooner have a bigger effect and support.

SWAC has been promoting “hilot” or the Philippines local version of the massage usually made to ease sickness like fever, cough and colds. The group has been pushing forward “Hilot” to make it a preferred and known service in Cebu for the industry.

Lim said that they are also looking forward for 2010 and the bright future of the industry through the help of the tourism congress. —AJ de la Torre