Dubai Times All About Dubai
- ATM to return with dedicated Wellness & Spa Lounge as global spa market set to top US$120 billion by 2025
- MENA market research highlights the UAE as the region’s top performer with spa market value expected to top AED1.85 billion by 2020
Spa Marke
t in UAE
The global wellness industry grew 10.6% to become a $3.72 trillion market with the spa market a key driver according to new research. The research mirrored the growth in the MENA region of the tourism-related industry with the UAE at the forefront of growth.
The UAE spa industry is estimated to be valued at AED1.7 billion, accounting for 14% of the MENA spa market, and expected to surpass AED1.85 billion by 2025.
Dubai currently has more than 200 spas in operation, with 25 new hotel spas expected to open this year. Furthermore, the Dubai hotel spa market continues to experience increasing demand with a 9% increase in the average number of treatments sold per day.
“The global wellness industry has witnessed incredible growth in recent years as more and more people incorporate healthy habits into holidays and corporate travel, with an increasing trend of travelers willing to commit their time and money to wellness proving to be a major driving force when making vacation decisions,” said Simon Press, Senior Exhibition Director, Arabian Travel Market.
“The surge of interest in this specialist tourism industry vertical has resulted in a 40% increase of exhibitors and dedicated wellness and spa buyers from the Middle East,” he added.
A number of wellness and travel trends are expected including a move towards healthy holidays such as eat well, detox holidays and get-fit boot camps resulting in an increased number of wellness packages offered at spas. The exclusivity of spa and wellness is also set to become less apparent as it becomes more mainstream.
Other trends set to benefit the region are an expected increase in demand to embrace local culture, heritage and sights.
“Safari holidays in Africa for example, are increasingly including yoga, spa and meditation as part of the itinerary. In Dubai, the Desert Yoga and Meditation camp has become a regular feature, clearly there’s an opportunity for the many desert resorts in the region to benefit from this trend and showcase the Middle Eastern landscapes and incredible sights,” said Press.
Medical tourism will be another key theme of the Spa & Wellness Lounge. According to Dubai Health Authority (DHA), Dubai has been attracting an increasing number of medical tourists.
“At this time, ‘get healthy’ was the number one search term associated with resolutions. There’s clearly an appetite for health and wellbeing and therefore a great opportunity for the tourism industry here to capitalise,” added Press.
The spa and wellness theme is only a part of a packed agenda being developed for ATM. The main theme is experiential travel, but other highlights include, technology, halal tourism, business travel, responsible tourism, shopping, aviation, culture and heritage, and adventure travel.
