By: Marcia Abramson
The month of October has been designated "Spa Awareness Month" by the Association's President Jane Segerberg of the Sea Island Spa at Sea Island, Georgia. This organization has more than 1,400 members from resort/hotel, destination, mineral springs, medical, cruise ship, club and day spas. According to Jane Segerberg," Service providers include physicians, wellness instructors, nutritionists, massage therapists and product suppliers with the goal to revitalize
humanity and to educate about the value of the spa experience as a time to relax, reflect, revitalize and rejoice." Dr. Bjorn Hanson, Ph.D, of Pricewaterhouse Coopers, together with Yesawich, Pepperdine and Brown, were engaged to determine who are the spa-goers and what are their expectations for this experience. I learned that there is a vast audience out there from baby boomers to "echo" baby boomers. "Echos are the children of baby boomers, generally under 18 years of age.
The professional surveys revealed that 85 percent of the visitors to day spas are women, 46 percent have had some college, while 39 percent are college graduates; 63 percent are married and 32 percent have an annual income between $45,000 and $74,999; and 26 percent are in the $35,000 or less annual income range. Most interesting to me was that 47 percent are "boomers" between 34 and 52 years of age. The demographics from the reports of the resort, destination, cruise spa-goers showed very little difference from the day spa-goers.
It was interesting to learn why people go to spas. I know that I look to the spa for relaxation, pampering and stress reductions. Weight loss is not my primary goal and for some unknown reason it seems that surveys showed that health reasons, exercise and fitness were at the bottom of our lists. If they happened, it would be just fine, but the feeling of euphoria after a spa visit to me was a very good reason for the expenditure. Deep muscle massage seemed to be the attraction for 74 percent of those going to day spas, while 70 percent gave a warm weather climate as their reason for selecting a resort or destination spa or cruise. Healthy meal choices, spa and workout facilities were important considerations for the resort destination spa attendees. Vitamins and low fat intake are common practices of the spa-goer who is concerned about good health and exercise.
I can agree with more than 50 percent of the spa-goers who are looking for new ways to reduce the stress factor in their lives and are concerned about their looks and "will do whatever it takes to look as young as possible." Walking and bike riding seem to be the exercise of choice by the vast majority of this population.
But for those of us with computer awareness, October is the month when we can log on to the International Web site to receive daily tips toward a healthier life. Through the month, the ISPA will post daily fitness, nutrition, skincare and reduction techniques, exercise pointers, tips for entertaining creatively and nutritiously. Workouts suggested include crunches, push-ups and even walking, negating the need for expensive equipment and gym memberships. Just log on to www.experienceispa.com for your inexpensive spa tip visit. From my experience, there is no greater pleasure than a visit to a destination spa. I found offerings of the Phoenix, Arizona Biltmore Spa with its innovative use of the flower from the Prickly Pear Cactus as a Cactus Flower Wrap to be a soothing skin treatment derived from ancient healing methods. It seems that early settlers in the Southwest peeled the stems of the cactus and bound them to wounds as dressings. Lung remedies by some American Indians came from drinking the pulp of the Nopal Prickly Pear Cactus. After a hand treatment with ground up natural wheats, a fruit paste, a natural tonic rinse with my hands resting on a warm towel, I saw wrinkles disappear and a baby's soft skin replace my tired old hands. If only it would last for more than a week. Your contact there is Debora Bridges, (602) 954-2535.
