More from the International Esthetics, Cosmetics & Spa Conference

My favorite session at the International Esthetics, Cosmetics & Spa Conference here in New York was the one given by Eva Jensch, a spa consultant from California who has been in the industry almost as long as I have and has probably worked in more “emerging markets” than anyone I know.

She presented a sort of “What’s Happening Around the World” for the spa industry. Because that is also one of my interests, I found her presentation fascinating. Here are some snippets from her presentation:

• A new Chiva-Som will open in downtown Bangkok
• Hyatt Pure will open 16 new spas in Asia in the next three years – 12 will be in China
• Cambodia’s emerging spa industry incorporates healing traditions outlined on the walls of ancient temples
• Buddha Bar in Paris is opening its first spa
• There is a spa in London called “The Womb Room”
• Spas are springing up in Croatia, Bulgaria, and Hungary
• In Dubai’s project called “The World” (a group of 300 manmade islands that is shaped like the seven continents), the entire island representing Thailand will be a Thai-themed residential spa program called The Jasmine Spa Garden
• There is talk of creating a Biosphere Spa with various biospheres in the desert in Dubai
• Six Senses is opening a Souk-like spa in Doha
• Banyan Tree is building the largest wave pool in the world in Bahrain
• Banyan Tree is also opening a spa/hospital hybrid in Kuwait
• Six Senses is building a spa where guests arrive on a paraglider
• In Peru, a spa is being built out of a renovated convent built on a cemetery
• Sofitel is expanding their Le Spa brand with an opening in Colombia
• A new destination spa on the west coast of Africa will cater to people of color from all over the world
• There are spas now planned for Uganda, Mozambique (will have an ice pool), and Ethiopia, where a 10,000-square-foot spa – the country’s first – will open soon

But her most memorable description was of a spa in Israel that will be using snakes in massage rituals. She was not talking snake oil – she was talking real-life (non-poisonous) snakes!