Highlights for 2008 will include the stunning makeover of California destination spa Cal-a-Vie, the opening of Canyon Ranch's first residential/resort SpaClub on Miami Beach, and Repechage on the beach in Baja California.

Check out our new series of Web Exclusives for Healing Lifestyles & Spas Magazine's www.healinglifestyles.com. Learn about budget-friendly places in West Virginia, Ireland, Canada, California, and Mexico.

Looking to Asia for fresh inspiration, we'll be covering CosmoprofAsia in Hong Kong. And the first-ever Global Travel & Tourism Summit in Dubai. Major brands expanding in the Middle East include the Heavenly Spa by Westin, Mandara and Elemis by Steiner Leisure, and Anantara from Thailand's Minor International.

As the global explosion of spas continues, SpaGoer reports focus on the essential experience. Not just luxury pampering, but life-enhancing treatments and programs that add value to your spatime.

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SPAGOER SPRING 08

Surveys of spas seem to be a growth industry. No less than four major studies conducted by independent researchers, SpaFinder, and ISPA, confirm the continuing growth of demand for spa services and products.

In the April issue of Spa Management Journal we report details of a new study by PKF Hospitality Research that says hotel spa revenues in the U.S. showed an 11.3 percent gain in spa department profits in 2006.

Taking exception to the PKF study, veteran hotelier and executive recruiter John R. Korpi says the figures are skewed. An exclusive analysis by Korpi appears alongside our summary of the PKF study supplied by Hotel Online (archived at www.hotel-online.com). Go to SpaGoer LINK page for the Journal website.

Weighing in at the Global Spa Summit in May will be hotelier Ian Schrager, a leading visionary in the luxury hotel industry who brought you the spa at Miami's Hotel Delano, currently developing a new hotel brand, "Edition," in partnership with Marriott International. A special report on the global spa economy highlights the event May 18-20 in New York City at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, where the new Guerlain Spa debuts. Conducted by SRI International, this is said to be the first major study to define the size and economic impact of the global spa industry.

Given the challenges faced by spa management professionals, this dialogue will continue.

Bernard Burt
Co-Author
100 Best Spas of the World