The Hotel Show is set to introduce a dedicated leisure element and the first Middle East Spa Summit at its Dubai exhibition next year.
Branded The Resort Experience, the new arena will be designed to capitalise on the growing demand from both city and beach properties for top-line sports and spa facilities.
Show director Maggie Moore said: Sixty percent of total spa revenue is generated through hotels in the Middle East, so hotel management will be eager to capitalise on the profit potential of spas. With increasing demands from both men and women, corporate and leisure, they can no longer be viewed as loss-leaders or an exotic part of guest services.
The paradigm shift is in response to guests who are now increasingly looking for spa facilities to complement their healthier lifestyle added Moore.
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The first Middle East Spa Summit, which will be developed by ITEC and Promeeting CEO David Bondi alongside The Hotel Show organiser dmg, aims to address issues associated with the trend for spa facilities as a necessity rather than a luxury.
The Summit will cover spa design, spas and the environment, staffing issues and trends in treatments and management.
Moore quoted the inaugural Spa Benchmark Report from SRI International and Intelligent Spas, which estimated that the UAE leads the way in the Middle East with 212 spa facilities generating almost US $268 annually.
Across the entire Middle East and North Africa region, the spa industry generates $631 across 824 facilities and 60% of industry revenue comes from hotel spas significantly higher than the 25% of total spa revenue generated by hotel spas in the US, Europe and Asia Pacific.
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